Peripeteia
by The Cloud's Essence
Summary: Tsuna was a well-known thief. And after another work-filled day, the most influential mafia Famiglia requested his assistance.
1. Peripeteia

Peripeteia

* * *

Tsuna blinked blearily. The sun shone through slits in the blinds into his eyes, and marked the congested room with lines of light and shadow.

His clothes and other necessities were messily crammed into an overflowing duffle bag, and paper lay scattered on the ground illegible; shredded, burned, and soaked.

He yawned and began wiping the sleep from his doe-like eyes. An extraneous briefcase was discarded next to him, holding his job.

A lazy gaze was directed towards the case. The information was so heavily protected that it a challenge to find. He does specialize in stealing, but stealing information wasn't the same as actual items.

In short, Tsuna was a thief. But in his defense, living on the street does cause one to have tendencies leaning towards the kleptomania.

Considering he can be clumsy... and extremely unlucky... and is definitely not the brightest, it's pretty amazing that he can even manage being a thief.

Tsuna was proud to say that he had become a bit famous in the underground world for his skills. Although, the fact that people were able to link some of his crimes together still got him rather annoyed. He would often be asked to steal precious items from rivals or museums to technology from governments.

It was pretty good money. The entertaining challenges were added bonuses. He could do without all the paranoia though.

This time he was different. He was not only asked to steal information, but he was asked by the mafia.

Not just any mafia family, but one that was actually influential in the world: the Cavalone Famiglia.

Tsuna didn't know much about the mafia inside, but he knew enough to know who was noteworthy and who wasn't. The Cavallone wanted the information to bring down another famiglia. The Tormentare Famiglia, along with having no taste they were barbarous. But they hid it well under a false front.

The information Tsuna had dug up was actually evidence to be used against them.

Essentially, blackmail.

Throughout the process of gathering the information, Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what the Tormentare had done to get on the wrong side of the Cavallone, who were known for there diplomatic ways (and a boss who would make a great financial adviser, but that's besides the point).

The small teen dragged himself out of his temporary bed, and got ready for the day. A quick shower and breakfast later, Tsuna then started his task of cleaning the compact apartment. Each window, chair, floor, counter, and even the walls were swept and scrubbed clean of all residue.

The intangible papers were further destroyed to make sure that not a letter was left legible when tossed. And Tsuna went over his apartment once more to ensure every inch was clean of as much evidence of life as possible.

When he was finished, the apartment looked immaculate... but empty.

Tsuna had wiped the place down to the best of his ability, making sure not to leave a corner uncleaned. His suitcase was now neatly settled by the closed door.

With a bag strewn across his shoulder and brief case in hand, honey eyes scanned the simple apartment one last time before stepping out into the sun.

Only a check for rent was left as evidence of a previous tenant.

* * *

Tsuna stopped in front of a locker: D27. He twisted the dial on a lock (he couldn't help but note how a child with a stethoscope would be able to crack it) to the combination 29-10-26.

The medium-sized compartment opened. A sly grin appeared on a brunet's face as he saw the item he had requested in exchange, an orange cube.

Pocketing the small cube, Tsuna placed the case in the locker. He shut the door and reset the dial to zero.

Outside the building, Tsuna walked down the semi-crowded street.

He watched as a limousine pulled in front of the building he just left. He leaned against brick wall, and waited with his eyes shadowed over.

_They're attracting a lot of attention..._

A blonde male stepped out with several others, smiling and laughing. Tsuna shook his head, Dino Cavallone really defied the public image for a mafia boss.

"Boss," started a black-haired man, "you shouldn't be so care free. Trusting a man we've never met. This could easily be a trap."

Dino grinned wider and threw an arm around the other male. "You worry too much Romario. I can tell he's a trustworthy guy!" The men surrounding their boss sighed in defeat.

Tsuna used his hair to hide a sweat drop._ He hasn't even meet me, let alone know what kind of person I am!_

The group disappeared inside. Tsuna stood up straight and walked away making his way into the crowd that gathered around the scene. At least he made sure this time that the intended had actually arrived. There was one time when he had worked for an idiot who couldn't read a map for his life; it caused a riot, but everything turned out okay... for the most part.

On the next street, Tsuna slid into the drivers' seat of a black sedan. Tsuna pulled out the box as well as sliding on a ring.

_A box weapon, huh? Might as well give it a go._

A flame manifested itself on the ring and he pressed it against the small cube. He watched as his sky flames were absorbed and the box opened.

In a mass of orange flames, a lion cub appeared and circled affectionately around his neck. A soft "Gao~!" left the cub's mouth. Tsuna understood the meaning of the growl as a greeting.

He lifted his right hand, Tsuna scratched behind the cub's ear.

"Nice to meet you too...," Tsuna felt a small smile form on his lips, "Natsu."

Natsu rubbed himself against Tsuna's cheek, showing that he liked his new name.

"I'm glad I was able to get the information for the Cavolone Don, and get you."

An agreeing "Gao...," rang out.

* * *

That same night, when Tsuna was playing with his new sky cub in a hotel he received a call that would lead to events that would irreversibly change his life.

Of course, he choose to ignore the forewarning feeling in his stomach and answered the hotel phone.

"How would you like to do a job for us?"

"... ." Tsuna opened his mouth to talk, but decided against it. Us? Who was this? The fact that he was found was bad enough, but letting them be able to get ahold of a recording of his voice? This is one reason paranoia was in his job description.

"I'm assuming you're still there."

If he knows where I'm staying, it's only logical he'd know what I'd look like, Tsuna reasoned. Might as well get this over with.

Tsuna's voice was calm, "It depends on the job... and who you are."

The man over the phone chuckled softly.

"The Vongola."

* * *

**(A/N)** Honestly, I'm still working on a plot/ background and I don't know if I'm going to continue. If I do continue with this story, I would like to give Tsuna a nickname that he's known by. I wanted to give him a name that wasn't completely random and completely cheesy. So far I'm thinking about Babyface (Tsuna's freaking adorable), 27 (I know, not very creative using his number XD) Bambi (compare his normal eyes and Bambi's, yes the deer). I would love to here other opinions/ suggestions. Thank you for reading!


	2. Bambi

**(A/N)** Hello! Don't worry I'll make this short. Thank you for all of you who favorited, followed, or reviewed my story. And thank you in advance for any who do the same in the future.

I would also like to thank those who left suggestions for Tsuna's codename/ nickname, but I think I'm going with Bambi. It would be difficult to explain why a Japanese word/name would be given to a thief in Europe. And variations of "sky" too, because not many are aware of the existence of Dying Will flames.

* * *

Bambi

* * *

_Alberto Albani was a rich man. He ran a successful underground market. That is to say, he worked in the Black Market._

_He distributed entire weapon arsenals to the mob, weapon enthusiasts, assassins, and other dealers. His work ran throughout North Italy, Switzerland, and even parts of France._

_And during an exchange with a business associate, he managed to get a expensive piece of technology. He had gotten his hands on a hand gun that the Bovino Famiglia had developed. His associate wasn't a Bovino, but such observations were best left unsaid in his business._

_The gun in question was a regular-looking glock. But this handgun didn't use bullets as ammo, but the rare flame that few – even in the underground knew – of._

_What he didn't expect though, was to see a silent silhouetted figure holding his new addition that night when getting a midnight snack. It should've been impossible for someone to break into his mansion without at least him and his guards being alerted to their presence. His security system was top-notch to avoid this very action. _

_Alberto didn't know what to do, it was the first time someone had made it past his security. So he panicked and charged at the shadow with a loud cry. _

_But the figure had appeared next to him in flash and kicked his legs out from behind him. The butt of the gun was rammed into his head as Alberto fell. But before unconsciousness overcame him, he saw a pair of brown eyes staring down at him._

_Wide, innocent brown eyes. _

_Then everything turned black._

_The news of the thief spread. Rumors spoke of Alberto Albani, the successful weapon dealer, who had been robbed of a hand gun. The other valuables were left untouched._

_Many became concerned, because if a man that had one of the best security system that money in Switzerland, then so could they._

_Alberto was questioned by several in the underground world on who the perpetrator was, because surely the man had left some evidence behind or was caught on camera. Sadly, no. The only answer Alberto Albani could give was that the thief had big warm brown eyes, like a deer's._

_Of course, this was found to be amusing. Who ever heard of a burglar with deer-like eyes?_

_But those eyes are what the thief became known for after another incident a a couple of months later where the same eyes had been seen in the middle of another thievery._

_Irritation, amusement, and most importantly respect were earned for the unknown thief. He managed to steal from two semi-influential figures who had invested greatly into their security._

_Not only that but he was only glimpsed due to a sudden change in the victim's schedule on both occasions. And not from the security measures prior in place.  
_

_The thief was branded with the misleading title "Bambi"._

_What was unknown was the thief was eleven at the time he received his new name, and was overcome with the sheer embarrassment of the name that he had worn sunglasses for a month, before he got rid of them because they interfered with his sight at night._

_Tsunayoshi is still mortified that he was named after a deer from a child's film. But he has gotten used enough to the name, so that his flaming blush doesn't appear at any mention of "Bambi". He still avoided the Disney film with his life since his nickname.  
_

* * *

Tsuna shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts in his head. _No matter how much I try I can't forget that embarrassing name..._.

He released a pent up sigh. _I have a feeling I'm going to do a lot of that._

Brown eyes looked out the window of his taxi. Namimori, Japan.

It was... unexpectedly small. Well, for a city. He was used to bustling cities that never seemed to sleep. Here, it was pleasant. The people were friendly and the the air was fresh. Such an unlikely place for Tsuna to go.

If he had the choice of staying off the grid he'd usually pick crowded areas or a small unknown village that wasn't on any map.

Sometimes, he even stayed in the wilderness. Bad memories.

The villages he stayed at actually welcomed him in, despite being purposely isolated from the rest of the world. He has yet to meet anyone who could resist his kicked puppy look; even if they had no idea what he was saying... or who he was for that matter.

Back to the topic at hand.

Tsuna landed in Namimori Airport, and was currently on his way to a hotel in a taxi. He had been to Japan before, but only the bigger cities or rural estates for business, so it was weird being in a city that had normal standards.

However, his new job was definitely abnormal.

He thought back to the phone call he received in Italy.

* * *

_Once the man had declared he was Vongola, Tsuna was stuck in a permanent loop of shock. His jaw unhinged then closed, then fell again only to close once more. This repeated for a minute or so until the Vongola stopped his repeat function, "The job I would like you to do isn't one that would be typically ask a of someone outside the Vongola."_

_Tsuna sat down on the floor in case his legs decided to give out. Natsu came over and snuggled into his lap. "Please elaborate Signor... uh?"_

"_Timoteo." The voice-er Timoteo filled in. _

_Tsuna's jaw fell... again. Timoteo, as in the Vongola Nono?! Most would assume he was an imposter, but everyone, even those with mush for a brain, knew better than to impersonate the Vongola Nono. Hell, even pretending to be even a lowly subordinate could end badly with the Vongola._

"_Ah, Signor Bambi, why do I have the feeling as if you are in a state of shock?" a chuckle, "I'm sure my feeling must be wrong."_

_Tsuna flushed. Was he that predictable that even a stranger read his emotions over the phone?_

"_Uh-um, I, uh- I mean, what would the job be, uh Signor Timoteo-Nono-Vongola-sir?" Tsuna face palmed. Nono-Vongola-sir? Where did that come from?! Take a deep breath Tsuna, and hope you don't embarrass yourself anymore than you already have._

_He took a reassuring intake of air. I'm was only talking to the Godfather. No need to be worried. He's just able to have practically the entire world go after your head if you anger him. Stress and fear began to build up, ready to explode._

"_Hahaha!" Soft laughter filled the line. And oddly, Tsuna felt himself calm instead of humiliated at the kind tone._

"_No need to be nervous my dear boy!" Wait boy? Well, that confirms my suspicion on being watched. More laughter rang out. "What I want you to do is to steal the Vongola Sky Ring."_

"_Eh?!" He wants me to steal his own ring? No way, I must of misheard! Unless he's insane from old age... but still!_

_The Vongola Nono's voice became a little strained, "What I mean to say is that I want you to steal it back, Bambi." Tsuna felt himself frown. You'd have to be suicidal to steal from the Vongola, even he avoided any jobs concerning them._

_The Vongola Boss Ring was invaluable. It was passed down to those of their bloodline since the creation of their Famiglia. It wasn't something you could sell, it was virtually priceless. And outside the blood, the ring was just another ring. Questions ran through his head._

_How did they steal it? Why would they even do that? WHO would even do that?! When did this-?_

"_Please one question at a time Bambi." Nono interrupted._

_Whoops, did I say that out loud?_

"_Yes, you did Bambi," Vongola Nono replied. Tsuna slapped his hand over his mouth. He really needs to get over that habit._

_Nono began talking again, "To answer your questions I would need your confirmation that you will get the ring back to me."_

_Did he even have a choice? Refusing the Vongola is the equivalent to a death sentence. Not necessarily by the Vongola but by their allies. They'd tear him apart if they knew he refused the Vongola out of respect._

_Removing his hand, Tsuna spoke, "I will do it."_

"_I'm glad you agreed Bambi. Thank you. I can't tell you this information over the phone, but I have a man who will be able to give it to you when you meet him. His name is Reborn."_

_Tsuna nodded, knowing that the Vongola Nono couldn't see. Reborn was known as the world's greatest hit man, and the Ninth's most trusted assassin; it was only logical that he would be filled in with the details too. "I see, where am I to go meet up with this man?"_

_The brunet swore he heard the Vongola Nono smiling through the phone._

"_Namimori, Japan."_

And that was how he ended up on a one-way flight to Japan. It was here, in a taxi driving him to the closest hotel that Tsuna realized something important. Where in Namimori was he supposed to find Reborn? He felt dread fill his being at another realization.

Meeting up with Reborn for the information would mean personally getting it from him, as in face to face. It was likely that the Vongola and Reborn knew what he looked like, but this was Reborn.

He wasn't called the world's greatest hit man for nothing; the man earned the title.

It also didn't help that he had heard rather credible rumors that the man was trigger happy, and possibly extremely sadistic.

Why was Reborn even in Japan anyway? Other rumors about what happened to people that questioned Reborn filled his mind. A shiver ran down his spine. _Never mind, I don't even want to know._

"We're here." The driver stated pulling to the side. Tsuna payed and thanked the driver. He got out and entered the hotel.

The woman at the front desk gave him the card to his room. Tsuna flung the door open and tossed his duffle bag into the room. He turned on the lights and shut the door behind him.

His eyes felt heavy and he collapsed on the bed with a light thud. Jet lag always hit him hard. _I'll just look for Reborn tomorrow._

"Chaos, Bambi." A smooth voice rang next to him. Doe-like eyes opened. There, laying next to him was a man clad in suit and bearing a fedora. It was Reborn, and his sharp black eyes were evaluating the one before him.

Tsuna reacted in the worst way possible for the both of them. It was later agreed upon to never mention their first meeting again.

* * *

Reborn laid on the hotel bed. Namimori didn't have five-star hotels, but this would do for now. He placed his hand hand over his chest to confirm the contents were still hidden away. He was currently annoyed... and a bit curious.

He was annoyed because he had to work with this guy. The number one hit man worked solo, not in a group, that would only weigh him and his high caliber skills down.

Bambi, that was the only name he could connect for sure to the male and it was only a nickname. Countless hours were spent scouring for information on the man, but nothing. The only names that he was able to find were on cards the man would use, but they were all fake or stolen identities. There was no face, no name, or place to narrow the search down.

Then his former idiot student happened to mention that he had requested Bambi's help with an email that was connected to the man. Turns out that Bambi changes his email address constantly, and Dino had been lucky enough to overhear the right person for the past one. It made him want to strangle someone from pent up irritation.

But he didn't, because the world's greatest hit man doesn't lose his temper.

He would get the information on Bambi for his records with this mission. Nono was far too trusting of the thief, but for all he knows, Bambi could've been the one who stole the ring.

There was no way he's going to willingly give the papers over until Bambi was rid of all suspicion of being the burglar they were looking for.

A smirk formed on his lips. He might as well have some fun with the thief either way.

The door clicked open. Reborn froze. He never even heard Bambi coming down the hall, only when he entered the room did he make any noise, but Bambi's steps and breath were near silent.

The man collapsed on the bed beside Reborn. _Obviously tired from the flight,_ he concluded. Reborn took the rare opportunity to examine the man- no child in front of him.

As a reference, Nono had shown him a picture of Bambi, but it wasn't clear enough for him to tell what he looked like up close. Just a mane of brown hair and a black slacks and a dress shirt with a white tie. He's certain that Nono had a better picture, but most likely thought it more amusing to give him that one instead to mess with him.

Now he knew why. His boss wanted to catch him by surprise.

Bambi, one of the best thieves known, was just a child. The boy didn't look more than 15. Reborn almost felt like laughing.

He never even considered the possibility that _the_ Bambi was a a child. He assumed that Bambi was just a cunning man with big eyes.

The boy was wearing an inconspicuous dark green and white hoodie, plain jeans, and faded blue t-shirt that would allow him to blend easily in with a crowd.

Bambi opened his mouth. Reborn waited for him to speak.

But what happened next was something Reborn hadn't been expecting. It was pretty hard to catch him, the world's greatest hit man off guard.

Out of Bambi's mouth came out a shrill, but clear voice.

"HIEE!"

Reborn jumped from surprise. _Jumped_.

Reborn doesn't jump from surprise, but here he was doing just that.

In his defense, any would do that if Bambi, the famous silent and secretive thief just screamed like a girl.

Bambi's left hand shot up over his own mouth, while the other formed a fist and shot out at Reborn's face. If Bambi had caught him at any other time, Bambi's fist would've been swiftly caught, twisted, and broken in a matter of seconds.

The fist collided with enough force with Reborn's left cheek to cause him to fall off the bed.

Reborn's eyes were wide from shock, then twitched and narrowed dangerously.

Today really wasn't his day.

* * *

Tsuna stopped himself from cowering in front of Reborn to pick up what's left of his dignity as a man.

He had just shrieked like a girl in front of the hit man, then punched him. It was on reflex, and the massive killing intent directed at him was the result.

He should've wrote his will when he had the chance.


	3. Threats and Information

**(A/N)** I usually reply to the reviews through PM's, but I had to mention the this. I didn't realize the similarities between Bambi and Bambino before, but it was a cool coincidence, no? I slid it in, it was too amusing for me not to. :X And wow, I already have so many favorites/ follows. I'm so glad people have taken well to it, it's kind of intimidating, but I'll try me best! :D

Also, prior warning, but this chapter (and future ones) contains some swearing, so I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable. But it's nothing major, like *beep beep beeeeep* you *beepity beeeeep*. Wow, that's fun to right *beep*. I should fake censor myself more, just for kicks. XD

* * *

Threats and Information

* * *

Tsuna watched as Reborn took a calming breath and the pressure alleviated a little. "Now tell me Bambi, what just happened."

Tsuna was confused, didn't Reborn know already? "What just... happened?"

Reborn sat down in one of the hotel chairs. A light bruise was already blooming his cheek.

_Please let it be gone before he looks in the mirror_, Tsuna hoped, but he already knew it would be there for a while. He could punch pretty hard.

Reborn drank from an cup – Tsuna wondered if where it came from – and clarified, "Yes, what just happened."

"Um, I accidentally," he cringed, "punched you?" _Please don't mention the shriek. Please don't mention the-._

"Wrong." Reborn stated calmly. _Wrong? How is that wrong? _"Nothing happened. You came in, I greeted you, and that was it; right?" The same glare appeared again, but was gone when Tsuna nodded rapidly.

He got the message. Reborn wouldn't mention his screaming, and he wouldn't mention the punch. If anyone ever found out either, it'd become the joke of the year. The embarrassing meeting could potentially follow them throughout their careers. They'd be the laughing stocks in the criminal world: _Bambi shrieks like a girl_ or _Reborn punched by a shrieking Bamb_i. Yep, it didn't fair well for either of them.

Reborn continued to drink from the same cup. Tsuna had a feeling the beverage was what was keeping him from snapping. _Lucky me._

Tsuna bowed his head towards Reborn in a attempt to restart their introductions, "It's nice to meet you, Reborn."

Reborn reciprocated with a simple tilt of his fedora, "We'll see, Bambi." An awkward silence stretched on. Tsuna shifted uneasily on the bed, no longer tired from the earlier commotion that was agreed never happened. That made no sense, did it?

Tsuna stared harder at Reborn and realized something. He was the only one suffering from nerves, while Reborn was acting like he owned the place. Deciding to not delay, and get the man to leave as soon as possible, Tsuna broke the silence.

"Vongola Nono said I was to receive the information from you." Tsuna said all nervousness surrounding him gone.

Reborn raised his eyebrow at the sudden change. The kid may be bi-polar, but he'll leave that up for later speculation.

Reborn simply replied, "Yes, I have it."

"May I have it?" he asked unsure.

The hit man's lips grew into a devilish smirk. "No."

Tsuna felt his irritation rising. "What do you mean no?" the brunet ground out. He hated it when people messed with him.

The black-haired man sighed exasperatedly, as if the answer was obvious, "You don't expect me to give out information for free, do you? I'll be kind and charge you 50-50. You answer my questions and I'll answer yours."

_I needed the information to complete the job._ Blood drained from his face._ If I don't complete the job, the Vongola would become angry. When the Vongola is angry, bad things. I don't want to die yet, or worse... .  
_

"I wouldn't think you would." Reborn said. Tsuna stared at Reborn shocked. _Did I talk out loud again?_

Reborn grinned, "No, you're face is just easy to read." Tsuna frowned at this. That's bad, good thieves aren't supposed to be easy to read. Does that make him a bad thief? He discarded the thought instantly, what does it matter anyway? He's still a criminal.

A folded paper was placed on the bed. Tsuna looked up.

"Directions," Reborn grunted, nodding towards the paper, "Go there tomorrow."

Tsuna continued to frown. Usually he was aware when people were close to him. Being distracted in front of a hit man is definitely not good. Especially one you just punched.

Tsuna glanced at Reborn's cheek, and to his horror the bruise was bigger and darker than before.

The hit man was waiting for an answer. Unable to trust his voice at the moment, Tsuna nodded.

Reborn grunted and walked out. The door shut with a soft click. Tsuna's shoulders relaxed and the brunet collapsed on the bed. Finally, Reborn was gone. The hit man's presence was discomforting, to say the least.

He'll have to try his best to answer the questions without giving too much information. Maybe it didn't matter one way or the other, the Vongola wouldn't give out his information easily. They were one of the few trustworthy criminal organizations.

The teenager crawled under the covers and fell into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow would be a long day.

* * *

Bambi slid into the seat across from me. He was in casual clothing again, but this time a white t-shirt and tan shorts. Reborn found himself wondering if the kid really was dressing to blend in or had cheap tastes. A smiling waiter approached them.

"Welcome to Takesushi, what would you like?" The boy greeted. Reborn noted it was most likely Yamamoto Tsuyoshi's son: Yamamoto Takeshi. His cousin talked about the boy constantly.

Bambi smiled at the boy, "I'll have the nigiri special please."

_So Bambi could speak Japanese fluently? He doesn't even have an accent._

"Tekka Maki," Reborn told the grinning Yamamoto.

"Okay, I'll be right back with that." Yamamoto left with the menus. Reborn and Tsuna sat in silence until Yamamoto came back with their order. They started eating.

He switched to Italian, "A name." Tsuna looked up and Reborn nearly pinched the bridge of his nose. Did he have to explain everything to this kid?

"Your name, and you'll get one question"

A smile was forced on Bambi's face and it looked like he was struggling with something, "Bambi."

Reborn crossed his arms, "Your real name or nothing."

Bambi sat back and thought for a while, "Tsuna."

"What kind of name is Tuna?" he criticized. Did Bambi really think he would fall for Tuna?

Bambi's eye twitched, "Tsu-na. Tsu not tu."

"What about last name?" Reborn asked _Tsuna_. Tsuna finished nibbled on a shrimp nigiri.

"None. I answered your question, so it's your turn. How did it happen?" He said sharply.

Reborn scowled. As if he'd believe that, but Tsuna had answered the question. "The ring was being transported to the heir. It was stolen before it reached him." Reborn took another bite, then said his next question as a statement, "Birth place."

Tsuna rolled his eyes, "Earth."

A glare was directed at him. "Don't get smart with me, kid. You know what I mean."

"Italy." He replied and continued to eat.

"I need more specifics than that. A city or a town." Reborn said. Leon crawled down from his hat onto the table. The green chameleon nibbled on rice that had fell out of the roll.

Tsuna stared at the chameleon for a while, making no indication he had heard. Reborn couldn't tell what the child was thinking, which was weird. He had been so easy to read before.

He poked at his food, "I don't know. I moved around a lot when I was little. I didn't stay in one place very long."

So apparently Tsuna doesn't have a last name, and he doesn't know where he was born? Even if he was an orphan, they usually can tell the children that information. He may be a street rat, that would make his occupation make sense. But that would only make it harder to find information of his past. It was likely why he couldn't find a name or face, even with prints. The kid wouldn't be in the system.

Reborn was about to inquire about this when he heard a familiar laughter.

"Reborn! What are you doing here in Japan? I thought you were on a business trip in America?" A man spoke in Japanese, and laughed. Reborn turned and stared at him: Asari.

He didn't think Asari was going to be visiting his uncle and cousin today.

"Aren't you supposed to be in high school?" Reborn asked pointedly. Asari should learn how to read the mood.

Asari smiled – Reborn noticed the similarities between the two cousins, "It's Sunday, Reborn."

"Ah, Asari! How've you been?" Yamamoto asked pleasantly surprised by the visit. The middle schooler hugged his cousin.

"I've been doing wonderfully, Takeshi-kun. Have you been well?" Asari responded just as cheerfully.

"Haha, of course," Takeshi gestured to Reborn and Tsuna, "Are they friends of yours?"

Asari laughed, "No. Reborn," he gestured towards the said man, "is just an acquaintance." Asari looked thoughtfully at Tsuna, "And I believe he is Reborn's friend, um...?"

Tsuna looked up waved his hands in front of him, "Oh no, you're mistaken. I'm just visiting, and I happened to get lost. Reborn-san here was kind enough to give me directions, so I'm treating him lunch for his kindness." He rubbed the back of his sheepishly and offered a slight bow of his head, "I'm Tanaka Mamoru. Nice to meet you, um, Azari-san I believe?"

It was delivered perfectly. Reborn himself would've believed it if he hadn't known better. He narrowed his eyes. So the kid was good at lying, but for some reason he felt Tsuna hadn't lied to him yet. It was odd considering the answers he had received. He'll listen to his gut for now, until he was able to check the facts.

Asari looked surprised, then his smile was back on full blast, "No, it's _Asari_. I didn't know Reborn was that kind. I guess everyone has good in them."

The idiot eyes wandered towards Reborn, and widened again. "What?" Reborn nearly spat.

Asari hesitated, "U-uh, wel-ll, I was j-just wonde-dering, where that b-bruise came f-from? Hahaha... ."

Reborn glared at Asari. He took a step back. Sweat ran down the side of his face. "N-no. Not at all Reborn. You can just be a bit stubborn sometimes." He laughed nervously and glanced at his wrist, "Well, I have to go. See you later Takeshi-kun, Reborn, Tanaka-san."

"Ah! Bye then, Asari! Stop by whenever!" Yamamoto shouted at the retreating figure and then went back to serve other customers.

Tsuna snorted, "He didn't even have a watch, but I'm guessing he must have been in a hurry to get away from you."

Reborn let out a soft chuckle. Who was he one to deny? He loved intimidating people. "Of course, I'm the greatest hit man in the world. It's his survival instincts kicking in for once." _I'm honestly amazed that Asari even has any. The man usually has no sense of self-preservation usually._

Takeshi appeared at their table again. He handed Tsuna the check, "Here you go, Tanaka-san!"

Tsuna nodded and gave him a debit card. He signed his 'name' on the check and waited for Yamamoto to return. Reborn looked at the check, and wasn't surprised to see 'Tanaka Mamoru' written in perfect kanji, like he had signed that name his entire life.

He didn't need to check any database to know that identity would check out fine. The kid obviously knew what he was doing.

Yamamoto gave Tsuna 'his' card back and told them 'Have a nice day. Please come back soon.'

* * *

"So Tanaka Mamoru?" Reborn asked when they walked into a park. Tsuna scratched his check.

"Insurance?" He offered. Reborn shook his head. The kid was weird. One moment he was hesitant, and then he was suddenly confident.

Tsuna was unsure of where they were going, so he asked. Reborn replied with a flippant, "No where."

"So who did it?" Reborn stopped, causing Tsuna to run into his back.

"Bambi," Tsuna frowned at the name, wasn't Reborn calling him Tsuna now? It was nice actually, he hadn't been called his real name in years. "I'll make this clear. I don't trust you. I've never liked thieves, and I don't like you. But if you ever give away any information you learn on this job: relations, names, places, whatever. I'll make sure to kill you in the worst way possible personally."

Chills ran down Tsuna's spine, "O-okay." He never thought of that, and he'd never do it. Tsuna never disclosed information from his jobs or clients. Not that any asked before, because of the omertà.

But he understood why Reborn explicitly told him. It wasn't often deals like this got this personal. However, now he'll try to be on the opposite side of the globe at all times from Reborn once this is over.

Reborn successfully scared the shit out of him. Not literally; that'd be disgusting.

"Good. And you will answer my questions first, then you can ask yours. Not the other way around." The hit man stated, "How long have you been stealing from the big guys?"

Tsuna blinked. That question was unexpected. He thought Reborn was going to continue asking about his personal life: Family, friends, age, et cetera. Maybe even schools and where he's lived. "Since I was nine."

"How old are you now?" Reborn asked, but he was clearly impressed. Nine was unbelievable age someone would even think of stealing from the rich and influential.

"That's another question Reborn," Tsuna said accusingly at Reborn, "You're cheating."

Reborn looked at Tsuna oddly, "This isn't a game, so I can't cheat." Tsuna pouted. "Fine, shoot." No, he wasn't defeated by the pout. He didn't fall for such tricks; he was Reborn.

"Who did it?" the doe-eyed male asked.

They continued walking down the empty street. "We don't know for sure. The Vongola subordinates who were transporting the ring were killed. Right now, there are only suspicions. The Gesso Famiglia is one. Along with Xanxus."

"But isn't Xanxus the Nono's son?" Tsuna questioned.

Reborn watched Tsuna try to make sense of it. He decided he'll help him out this once, "He wants to inherit instead of Enrico. He's shown himself as a potential threat, so he's first on the list. Unfortunately, we can't just accuse him because of his position; it would cause a controversy."

"Oh," Tsuna breathed.

"That costs you another answer."

The boy looked confused, then realization dawned on him. He had received an extra answer, thus the price was an answer from himself.

"So how old are you?" Reborn repeated his earlier question.

Tsuna shrugged, it didn't really matter on this one. "Fourteen."

The fedora-bearing man broke into a fit of coughs. Tsuna was about to ask him if he was all right, but Reborn's fit ended and he stared incredulously at Tsuna. "So that would mean you've only been in the business for five years? You're really only a kid! Barely a teenager."

"H-hey!" Tsuna started loudly, "I'm almost fifteen, you know?! I'm not a kid, so please stop addressing me as one."

Reborn snorted, "I just realized that Bambi suits you perfectly. You were a just a _Bambino_ when you started." Red rose to Tsuna's cheek. Out of anger or embarrassment, Reborn had no clue.

He went on, "You are a kid. Also, you're short for your age." Tsuna's face fell. It wasn't his fault he had yet to reach his growth spurt. Reborn's taunting smirk wasn't helping his mood either.

They walked in silence once again down a new street. "S-so...," sniffed Tsuna. He hated being called small. And he might be a _little_ insecure about his height.

A glare was shot at Tsuna. "Don't stutter. It's irritating." Tsuna held in a shriek.

He took a breath and started over, "So... all I have to do is find out if Xanxus or the Gesso Famiglia stole the ring and retrieve it?"

Reborn shoved his hands into his pockets. "And everything will be rainbows and sunshine. Yeah, no. It's not that simple, kid. Xanxus has taken over the Varia, I'm sure I don't need to elaborate about them. You've probably heard the stories. They're all true in case you doubt them." Reborn stared intently at a tree, "The Gesso? They've become a problem recently. Have been rising steadily, and have no intention of allying themselves with the Vongola."

That was news to Tsuna. The Vongola was in a precarious position. If they weren't careful, they could be attacked from both the outside and inside.

Reborn continued, "The purpose for you coming to Japan is because the Gesso are rumored to be located here. Apparently they have been sighted here recently, which is especially unnerving."

Tsuna furrowed his brows. 'Especially unnerving'? Maybe Reborn knows more people than Asari here. They must be important to him. Family and, or friends.

His eyes became glassy temporarily, _family and friends, huh...?  
_

"So what am I going to be doing if I can't just get in and out?" Tsuna asked.

"No," Reborn answered slowly, "you'll be doing just that, but I'm going to be doing my own negotiations of my own. The Gesso's security rivals even Vongola's. You just have to be careful, and if you're caught Vongola won't back you up. They don't want war, so that's why they hired you and me. My loyalties may lie with them, but I'm not part of the Vongola. We're outside of the family, so the blame can't be put on them."

Reborn looked at Tsuna with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I'll give you that answer for free right now, but I'll collect the debt later."

Tsuna sweat dropped, that doesn't make a difference. "So what am I going to do?"

"Gather as much information on the Gesso's presence here, and present it to me tomorrow evening. If they don't have it, we move on to Xanxus. If they do, you'll start the hard part."


	4. Sneaking Out

**(A/N)** Is it confusing with all the names I've given Tsuna? (i.e. Tsuna, Bambi, and Tanaka Mamoru) I hope I'm not, I'm just trying to keep the correct name for the coinciding POV.

And so, without further ado, I present you chapter four.

* * *

Sneaking Out

* * *

Tsuna groaned. He wasn't good at hacking, so he decided not to take the risk. Since he couldn't get into the Gesso Famiglia's data bases, he had to settle for more conventional ways.

He had to collect debt.

Of course, the brunet didn't just ask, "Would you hack into the Gesso for me, to find the Vongola ring?" No, Reborn would carry through with his threat if he did that.

It would be nice to look forward to a future that includes him.

His only choice of capable indebted was an information broker in Spain, who he had helped out by providing an alibi. The man was a criminal, true, but he was on death row for something he never did.

People didn't like security risks, and the man had enough blackmail on him to be considered one.

His name was Eduardo Bustos, and he was a relatively righteous guy. But he was just born into the business.

Tsuna fabricated some receipts and camera footage that he was in a different country at the time of the accused crime. The collected 'evidence' was left on the steps to the court with 'Bambi' elegantly signed. It was first time Tsuna willingly used the name; his morals overrode embarrassment.

Even if it was a crime to use a false testimony in court, but no one needed to know that.

The man literally owed Tsuna his life.

After rapid emails back and forth, Eduardo finally gave him all the information he had on the Gesso.

The worst part though, there was no evidence the Gesso did it, nor was there evidence they didn't. Bostos had wrote in the last email that he'll get his hands on the information Bambi needed.

With a sigh, Tsuna erased as much of his internet trail as he could. Then he got into bed. Maybe, he should take the chance and try to hack into their databases tomorrow?

Nah, the risk is too high. He'll wait to see if Bostos will get it all done by tomorrow. It should still be daylight in Europe.

Tsuna snuggled deeper into the covers. He couldn't help but think this job was more trouble than it's worth. He rarely ever had to rely on other people for his jobs.

It was... unnerving for his identity to be known. Tsuna was exposed. It contradicted his entire lifestyle of obscurity and deception.

It made him feel helpless, and Tsuna never liked that feeling; no one does.

Pushing his insecurities away, Tsuna drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep in the quiet hotel room.

But right before unconsciousness filled him, a familiar emptiness surfaced:

Loneliness.

* * *

The first thing Tsuna did when he woke up was check his email. One unread mail from Bostos.

Only bad thing, which he realized last night was that he never asked Reborn when the ring had been stolen, or where for that matter, but he narrowed the time range it was stolen within to a month, so that's what he had Bostos look into: where the Gesso were and what they were doing in the past month.

_Gah, too many words._ The file Tsuna had to read was huge. It was pretty much a detailed account of their activities, since he was unable to narrow down the search further. Why did mafia famiglias do so much in the span of one month? It was equal to a years worth of accomplishes by an extremely busy business. He wanted so badly to cry in a corner and avoid the work, but alas, his job doesn't work that way.

_Why do I have to be so bad at everything else? I could've been a regular business man, or- or a dishwasher!_ Tsuna hung his head, _Why is it much easier to break the law than to abide it for me? _He let out a small submissive sigh, _I better start._

Brown eyes glanced at the disgustingly large file. _Ugh, and the it ranges from the higher-ups to people subordinates came in contact with._

He'd have to make due with it, and hope it was worth the read. Let him rephrase that, it better be worth the read. And hopefully, Reborn would be help him go through the file later too if he doesn't finish, which most likely will happen.

For now though, Tsuna printed the papers and started skimming. Every now and then a sentence or section would be highlighted in orange.

Like the relocation of the main headquarters from France to Japan, and the famiglias they've come into contact with. Especially the Giglo Nero who were known for their neutrality and being benevolent.

* * *

Reborn was quiet as he scanned the documents. They were currently at Takesushi again. It was the only restaurant that meet Reborn's standard on food quality in Namimori.

"Here." Reborn stated underling the section with a pen he was talking about. Brown eyes scanned the papers. The section that was underlined was a visit the Gesso had paid in Italy two weeks ago for a mafia event. It was a simple tournament for mobs from all around to show off their power.

That specific tournament was open for all criminals, even those outside of alliances. The Vongola was one family that would often let their subordinates or higher-ups to attend; it demonstrated their own power to any who may be foolish enough to try to attack them.

The Vonogola would also send some of the CEDEF and Varia too.

"The Gesso stayed longer than necessary. I wasn't aware they hadn't already left; I assume Nono wasn't either." _The Vongola had even checked to see that any potential enemy were out of the vicinity. How did they manage to fool Vongola spies?_ "At the end of the week, the Vongola sent the ring out to the selected candidate; Enrico had just gained the title of official heir." Reborn handed the files back, which Tsuna tucked away into the expensive suit he wore that day.

"Xanxus also attended, and was unaccounted for during the time."

Tsuna stared at the man for short amount time, before settling for a question. "So they're still both suspicious?"

Reborn nodded, "We're going after the Gesso then."

Tsuna objected, "But wouldn't we need to gather more-?"

"No." _He should know better than to question me,_ "My presence here has brought attention here. The Gesso would be the best to target as of now with doubt on both sides, rather than the Nono's own son. We don't have enough time to gather information that may not be there, so we're breaking into their base tonight."

Tsuna's eyes became incredulous. Reborn could practically read his thoughts at the moment, _what was the point in delaying until now?_

Reborn felt his smirk form, "I would think you would've figured that out by now Tsuna. Just think about it, we needed to make sure the suspicions were justified with facts."

Realization dawned on Tsuna's face, "Oh."

"Yeah," Reborn mocked, "'oh'." Leon transformed into an alarm clock. Tsuna stared wide-eyed at the lizard, his mouth fell open when Leon started ringing.

Reborn nearly chuckled at his reaction, but he was getting the hang of Tsuna's behavior. Most people he knew ignored, shouted at, or took in stride anything out of the ordinary."It's time to go," before school gets out, and anymore of the brats show up.

Reborn paid this Tsuyoshi and exited the building with Tsuna.

Like last time, they wandered around. Not a park now, but they were walking down a random street. Before either they went their separate way, he had informed Tsuna he'd met up with him in front of Tsuna's hotel at 11 pm, but when they started to go their separate ways _interruptions_ popped up.

They were another reason why he didn't want to do the job.

"Haha, I thought you had already left town Reborn. It's rare for you to stay so long without dropping by to say hello to everyone." Asari said. With him were a red-head and a blonde.

* * *

Tsuna lowered his head and kept on walking in his respective direction, blending into the background. He didn't want to intrude on Reborn's personal life more than necessary. His threats were scary enough now.

"Ah, Tanaka-san! I almost didn't notice you. It's nice to see you again!" Asari said. Tsuna straightened his back. He knew he had erased the majority of his presence, so a normal person wouldn't even be able to tell he was there unless they were looking at him first. Asari hadn't been looking at him until now.

Instinct was telling him that Asari wasn't normal.

A smile came onto his face, "Asari-san, it's nice to see you too. I must apologize, I get stuck in my own world sometimes, and tune everything out."

Asari looked between Reborn and Tsuna. Confusion was evident in his eyes.

The likelihood of his identity being revealed was close to zero, but his business with Reborn was pretty high chance right now.

The reason he didn't let his face become known was so he wouldn't have to change his appearance to avoid being tracked (even with the Vongola now able to). Things like that were difficult and bothersome.

Tsuna decided to interrupt Asari's observations, "I came back for some more sushi today, since it was delicious. It was a pleasant surprise to see Reborn-san there too, so we decided to enjoy another meal together."

The blonde spoke from beside Asari, "Reborn, I didn't know you were back in town. Did Father send you on another 'mission' to give his love to Mom?" Reborn snorted, but gave no reply.

Tsuna was overcome with the need to run, get far away before Reborn felt he was too high of a risk to keep alive.

He made a slight apologetic bow, "I'm sorry Asari-san, but I must make my leave now." _I like living._

The blonde's sharp eyes locked on Tsuna. He had hair similar to Tsuna, but that was all. His eyes and overall complexion were different. "And you are?"

Tsuna bowed his head towards the professional-looking teen. How can he looked so high and mighty in a school uniform? "Tanaka Mamarou," Tsuna glanced at his watch, which was set for Italian time, "I'm really sorry for my rudeness but I have to go. I was planning to enjoy the town more, before it get's too late."

"Tanaka-san, there's no need to be so formal with us. You look about our age anyway," the black-haired grinned, "We can show you around town if you want." He smiled teasingly towards the blonde, "Giotto won't bite."

Tsuna scratched his cheek, "Uh... ." _Help me Reborn,_ Tsuna hoped the man could really read minds.

The blonde teen, Giotto, was already examining Tsuna, as if sensing something wrong with him.

"Tanaka-san already said he had plans. We wouldn't want to impose, right Tanaka-san?" Tsuna swore he could've hugged Reborn at that moment; that's how happy he was.

"Yes, tonight is quite busy for me. I'm sorry that I cannot take you up on your offer." Tsuna explained. On the inside, he was praising every deity he knew of: he was spared.

"Nonsense," Giotto spoke with a soft smile, "I would love to hear how you and Reborn know each other. He's not polite to just anyone." Asari and Giotto grabbed Tsuna's arms each. They dragged him around with G shaking his head and Reborn following.

Tsuna actually never got a chance to see the town, except his hotel, a park, and Takesushi. They showed him all sorts of places in the short amount of time before sundown.

Namimori had several shrines that set apart from everything else. Their shops were small for the most part, but cozy. Some of the best views of the autumn surrounding – which were debated feverishly between them – were pointed out too.

Tsuna mostly ignored Reborn's obvious moping, and had fun.

Asari made him feel relaxed, which was a luxury for Tsuna.

The red-head, who was later revealed to be G, made Tsuna laugh with his constant scolding his two friends.

And Giotto, despite some suspicious looks from time to time, made the brunet feel accepted.

Tsuna's smiles were carefree, and he laughed a lot. A warm feeling filled his heart that hadn't been there for a while.

Reborn was lucky to know them.

* * *

Reborn was going to kill them. All three of them- or four, but that didn't change anything. The three idiots were wasting his time and spewing information from their yaps.

Now Tsuna not only knew their names, but school and connection to Reborn. Did they really have to tell him that he worked with Giotto's father, Iemitsu – they even said gave away his name! He saw the recognition in the kid's eyes. No one knew Iemitsu's last name – for obvious reasons – but his first name was still well-known.

The worst part was he couldn't act on his anger.

No scratch that, it was the frustrating smiles and laughs that Tsuna did. It looked like he was actually enjoying himself, or maybe he was acting again.

Reading Tsuna was getting harder the more Reborn spent time around him.

And now of all places, they were in a house with a 'Sawada' nameplate.

They showed Tsuna were Iemitsu lived. Granted, with the information he could've gathered from their earlier tour, Tsuna could've easily found out where he lived, but that was beside the point.

They were seated in Giotto's room snacking on cookies Nana made. Woman was too kind. He sincerely hoped that the four would turn blue from the cookies that were being shoved down their throats. Reborn made sure to glare at Tsuna from beneath his hat, and (un)fortunately the kid choked. Then G patted him on the back allowing Tsuna to swallow. Damn.

The three kept on bringing Tsuna into random conversations. They had a weird conversation about scars and other injuries.

Reborn filed away the good stuff for later dates.

Like G being sticking his hand in a hot toaster because half the toast was still in.

Or Giotto having a pot pie blow up in his face.

And of course Asari, the prize winner, who broke his leg from jump roping on a desk. Who sees a desk and thinks,_ I want to jump rope on it_?

Reborn rested his cheek on his hand, only to switch to the unbruised side. He still couldn't believe it was still there, although barely. He couldn't use a massive amount of sun flames because of the Gesso, but a little should've been enough to make it disappear. Tsuna glanced at Reborn and offered a hesitant smile, and Reborn wanted to strangle him.

Wow, Reborn blinked. Usually when he was violent it was due to his sadistic nature, but now it was because of frustration building up at a dangerously fast pace.

He needed to get ahold of himself before he really snapped.

Nana came in to pick up the cookies, "Oh, Reborn-san. You and your friend can stay in the guest room." _What_?

"T-there's no need Sawada-san," Tsuna said hurriedly, "I'm already staying at a hotel."

Nana pouted. Reborn could've groaned. It was near impossible to say no to Nana when she got like that.

"This is my way of thanking you for spending the day with my son and his friends, Tanaka-san. I just want to make sure you and Reborn feel as comfortable as possible here."

Tsuna tried to get out, "It's really okay Sawada-san."

Nana furrowed her eyebrows and insisted, "Tanaka-san, it's no problem. I love it when the mornings are more lively."

Reborn didn't even bother fighting back. He didn't like losing.

Giotto smiled. G and Asari were spending the night, despite it being a school night. They always did this.

Reborn and... Tanaka-san – for some reason he hesitated with the name, it didn't seem to fit – were also staying. They were sleeping in the guest room right now, after it had gotten late.

* * *

G and Asari themselves were sleeping soundly, but Giotto was having trouble. He stared at his alarm clock: 10:47 pm. Ugh, why couldn't he fall asleep?

He was restless. After turning over in his bed for the umpteenth time, Giotto got out. Maybe a glass of milk will be what he needed.

He went down stairs and poured himself a glass. The blonde downed it, and traveled back to his room.

"We... now... time." Giotto heard the undeniable deep voice of Reborn. They were still up?

"What if... wake... Reborn?" That was... Tanaka-san's voice. It sounded like Tanaka-san addressed Reborn, Reborn-san. He probably just missed the '-san'.

"...Tsuna... won't... ." _What was Tsuna? _Giotto edged closer to the guest room.

There were some noises of things being shifted around. He pressed his ear to the door to hear what came next. Something was up.

Giotto waited for the conversation to continue, but silence was all that met him. Had they gone to sleep? No, he didn't think so.

He opened the door enough to see through a crack, but saw the bed empty. Shocked, he entered the room. The window was left unlocked, and there was no one there.

He hurried into his room.

"G," he whispered loudly and shook his friend, "G!"

G's eyes opened. The red-head yawned, "Whad taim iz iht?" (Translated to: What time is it?")

Asari stirred and let out a questioning, "Hn?"

"They're gone. They're gone!" Giotto whispered hoarsely.

G rubbed his eyes, "Who's... gone?"

Giotto got up and opened his closet. He pulled on a jacket and threw tow spares to his friends, "Reborn-san and Tanaka-san!"

G shot up, "Wha-?"

Asari put on the jacket thrown at him, "Giotto?"

"The window," he muttered quickly, "I don't know why, but what if something happens to Tanaka-san? He's with Reborn-san of all people!"

Asari nodded gravely, "I see. We should go and find them, before Reborn does something to scare Tanaka-san."

"Let's go then," G snapped pulling the door open, "No one deserves to end up victim to Reborn."

The three rushed quietly down stairs, and slipped their shoes on.

Reborn and Tanaka-san were still visible until they turned a corner. Giotto let the others know to not get too close, or else Reborn would find them.

He didn't know why he didn't just step out and tell them to go back inside.

They followed the two at a safe distance. Giotto noticed how Reborn and Tanaka were sticking to the shadows a lot.

His observations were put on hold for the moment, when the two turned on an old road into the surrounding forest.

_Where are they going?_

G interrupted his musings and his blood turned cold, "Do you think... Reborn, since he's a hit man and all, could've been hired to kill the kid?"

_Oh god, I've just let a kid go into a forest with a killer._


	5. Marshmallows and Tea

**(A/N)** I was having trouble with this chapter, and time also hasn't been kind to me lately, but I tried my best. Expect an overuse of mood breakers. XD If you see any mistakes, feel free to let me know. As a side note, I'm not an expert with computers or thievery, so prepare for inaccuracy. If the computer jargon (or anything really) is wrong, please correct me.

Here's the chapter, and thank you for reading. ^^

* * *

Marshmallows and Tea

* * *

Marshmallows and tea.

Giotto stared blankly at the combination being offered to them. He was absolutely confused of their current situation.

G was simply gaping. He was unable to coin a suitable answer to the outrageous offer.

And Asari, well, was being Asari and currently sipping on green tea and snacking on gooey sweets.

Giotto wondered how a rescue mission turned into what appeared to be a friendly visit. Most of all, he couldn't help but wonder where Tanaka-san and Reborn disappeared to. They disappeared in the same shrine, which wasn't a shrine, but an underground base of some kind; Giotto was still unsure of how this setup was possible.

So where did the hit man and the teen go? Something in him, prevented Giotto from asking aloud, and he interrupted before similar questions were asked by his friends.

They both got the hint right away; they knew to trust Giotto's decisions on such matters.

A finger poked the blonde, "Ne, do you want some?" a white-haired man asked again.

Giotto gathered himself and declined the marshmallows being waved in his face. To be honest, he wasn't sure what to say to the eccentric man, so he went with 'no, thank you'.

"Yay~! More for me then!" The guy exclaimed, and then shoved a mass of marshmallows into his mouth.

G made a choking sound. Probably from his hate of sweets, Giotto noted. His friend could hardly stand the smell of anything sweet after the three of them went on a splurge for them on evening.

Needless to say, they all got sick, but G was scarred from the experience. The red head would avoid sweets with his life if possible.

But back from the sudden digression, they were currently sitting on the ground at a low-rising table. The man was currently acting like high school students broke into his place everyday.

Giotto's mind wandered back to how he ended up here.

* * *

The blonde was freaking out silently. Who wouldn't?

He had just let a contract _killer_ go into the woods with a polite stranger, and Giotto didn't even attempt to stop them.

Asari and G seemed to realize the gravity of the situation too. Without even uttering a word, they came to an unanimous decision: save Tanaka-san from the evil clutches of Reborn the Demon.

Knowing Reborn, the man would prolong the death to ensure the most pain. _No, no! That wasn't going to happen! Think positive Giotto._

He opened his mouth to release a simple command, "Let's go."

The three set off after them into the forest.

The bramble continuously snagged at their clothes, forcing them to slow their pace and lose sight of the two they were following.

Many expletives came flying from G's lips every time a branch burrowed into his clothes. Asari was evidently less cheery than normal, which was a bit freaky to see the normally easy-going teen serious.

They were lost, but still persevered to vanquish the evil demon and rescue the damsel in distress.

Maybe he read one too many fantasies, but Giotto probably would've developed a hero-complex later on regardless. The tall-tales of heroic conquests just nurtured the potential complex that would undoubtedly come about one way or another.

After a few more minutes of stumbling through the semi-dense forest, they once again spotted Reborn. Brown hair flashed for a moment before disappearing into a small shrine.

Giotto fell out from behind the bushes framing the clearing, but Reborn had already followed after Tanaka. He hastily got up, with G and Asari following, and reopened the sliding paper entrance.

The plain shrine was empty.

"Where did they go?" G gasped. _This is impossible, wasn't it?_ Giotto thought,_ maybe Reborn was just pulling a trick on us?_

"I wonder where the hidden compartment is," Asari mused.

Giotto looked questioningly at his air-headed friend, "What are you talking about?" He added an afterthought, _then again, I still might not understand what goes through your head._

Asari smiled, and the atmosphere was slightly less serious, "The magic trick, Giotto. I nearly forgot Reborn always plays games like this."

Giotto felt himself frowning. It sounded like absolute nonsense, but he couldn't get the idea of some kind of trick being in play here. He kneeled down and started patting the bare boards. Asari just laughed, and followed Giotto's lead.

"Giotto!" G exclaimed, "What the hell are you two doing?!"

Giotto ignored the question and The continued crawling around, continuously tapping, in deep concentration. And Asari was mindlessly patting the ground, with a smile as usual.

G stared disbelieving at the absurdity of their actions. He was starting to lose patience with his friends, but Giotto continued tapped more, pretending he hadn't heard a word. The blue-eyed teen knew, somewhere in him, that he wasn't seeing something important. _But what?_

_Bang! _"Ow!"

Giotto looked up, and saw G flat on his face. Most importantly was what G had tripped over. "A trapdoor!"

G looked up painfully at his best friend's exclamation, "No shit Sherlock, I found it."

Asari was still smiling... do I really need an explanation for this?

The three friends gathered around the previously invisible trap door. It was like an illusion was lifted.

Giotto took a deep breath and opened it. They stood there for a while, before nodding to each other and the three descended the ladder.

When they touched the ground, they were even more surprised. Surrounding them was a collection of hallways, doors, and an assortment of technology lining the walls that resembled what one would see in a Hollywood knock-off of a military base.

Several cameras zeroed in on them with mechanic whirring. An alarm blared and flashing red surrounded them._  
_

Shock filtered through them, settling into panic when soldiers in white suits surrounded them. Guns were pointed at their heads, and the students were smart enough not to put up a fight and listen to the orders shouted at them.

Guns are an excellent form of persuasion.

* * *

Reborn and him split up immediately, to make the search faster. The hit man had brought some kind of software with him to see if the information was on the Gesso's computer.

The Vongola's technology division knew what they were doing.

There was a smaller safe that he already hit in what was the Gesso boss's, Byakuran's, personal office. The man spent most of his time out of the office in a central meeting room to avoid actually working. It made Tsuna question how the Gesso is even run if the boss runs away from the workload that comes with responsibility. Only marshmallows were in the personal safe. He had heard the boss liked marshmallows, but that was over the top, even for obsession.

It was such a waste of time, and Tsuna had moodily made his way to the walk-in safe. When he reached the safe, Tsuna disabled the security and made his way inside the room. Tsuna picked open the last drawer of a cabinet. He was currently dissecting a room dedicated to being a treasury of some sort.

He shifted through the contents with gloved hands, but found nothing except various world currencies, a lot of rings stashed by element and class (such a pain to go through all of them), an equal amount of box weapons and other flame powered weapons, and... more marshmallows.

The Gesso Famiglia were officially in the top ten weirdest mobs Tsuna knew of. Number one was the Bravissimo Famiglia, who made their lives an ongoing musical; seeing buff, cigar-smoking men burst out into song and dance was frightening.

Brown eyes shot around the narrow room adorned with walls of ceiling high cabinets. Each was shut and locked neatly, as it was prior the thirty minutes it took to look through them, and the various cameras and other security measures (seriously, it was like one of those spy movies that have increasingly ridiculous levels of security that never work.).

There was nothing in here. Or in this base at least, for Tsuna to find. Time to go back to Reborn, and see if the Vongola technology did its job.

Who's he kidding? Of course it did, it was made by _the_ Vongola.

Right when Tsuna stepped out, he hit redid the wires of the control panel and placed the top on again. The door shut, but he heard the electric hum of the mechanics restarting. He slid silently from blind spot to blind spot, gradually reactivating the cameras out of their image loop.

He continued to make his way towards where Reborn should be when a siren screeched.

Reborn's far too skillful to get caught, so how?

Footsteps pounded on the concrete towards his direction. Without a second thought, Tsuna ran towards the opposite direction, still avoiding the cameras views. The steps were getting louder, when Tsuna turned the corner only to find there weren't any doors or hiding places for him.

Tsuna looked back and saw the subordinates continuing to march straight, without turning or even glancing in the intersecting hallway. The small group passed by quickly, and Tsuna was alone again.

He fell onto the floor and pressed his hand against his racing heart hoping to calm it down faster. For a second, he had believed that he had screwed up big time. He probably could've handled the Gesso's subordinates, but Byakuran and his guardians were here too. If he was caught by one of them, winning wouldn't be assured.

Tsuna clutched his shirt tighter, steadying his breathing. He should follow them.

The brunet got up shakily, silently cursing the Gesso Famiglia.

Scares like that weren't good for any heart.

* * *

Reborn knocked out another (useless) subordinate. He was in the computer and surveillance department, and unfortunately there was always someone working in it unlike other divisions in the base.

Unconscious bodies were neatly piled in a corner. Reborn pulled out the USB that Nono had given him. It was a simple bit of technology, that would plant a bot to locate any information in the Gesso's networks regarding the Vongola and the rings.

He walked to the mainframe and plugged in the USB, and instantly the computer screen changed. Binary files appeared and were scrolled through in mere instants. File upon flashed in the screen, only to be replaced when the device was done with it. The device was described to him, but seeing it at work, Reborn couldn't help but feel impressed with the pace the device had set.

He didn't let himself get distracted however. The bot would have to check everything in the vast system, so even if the pace was rapid, it still takes time.

Reborn settled himself into a chair. He positioned it just right so upon initial entry he wouldn't be seen, but the intruders would be visible to him via monitor reflections. And as a precaution, Leon was still in gun-form, equipped with a silencer.

He wouldn't have enough time to read the information within the time-span, but that was taken care with another function that was installed in the USB. Any information that it found as relevant would be stored in its memory banks.

Reborn looked at the bright screen. Unsurprisingly, there were files with a bar above reading: saving... .

A smirk danced on his lips. He was told that the USB's bots would screw up the system a bit once they were done, due to forcing their way into files. How lucky that this system seemed to be connected to the entire base.

He and Tsuna would be gone by the time anyone notices anything wrong.

A slight movement could be seen from one of the reflections, but just as soon stopped when Reborn shot in the direction, silencing the man.

They were knocked out without knowing the cause, but it's their own fault for not being on guard. It was a bit depressing how little they pay attention to their surroundings.

Reborn hadn't even bothered to hide his presence when he entered the room. There weren't any cameras or other devices to monitor intrusion in this division, because they monitored the rest of the base and never thought to watch their own station. Everything was going smoothly.

The mood was disturbed with the shrieking of an alarm.

Reborn's hand tightened around Leon. Did Tsuna make a mistake? Improbable considering his record, but still possible.

A red flashing caught his attention from his peripheral. His green gun was pointed in the direction instantly, but it was one of the active monitors that was flashing. To be exact a surveillance one.

Three familiar figures were surrounded by guards.

Reborn cursed out loud. The one time he hadn't made sure that he wasn't being followed, and those three just had to ruin everything.

The worst part was that he couldn't leave this room until the program had completed without making the situation worse.

The Gesso brat better not try anything.

He could only watch the events unfold from his chair until the program was done.

* * *

"Ne, ne, blondie, who are you?" Byakuran sang.

Giotto blinked, "...Giotto."

The marshmallow-lover tilted his head in thought, "Giotto?" His fist met his own open palm, "Ah! I know, Sawada Giotto, the CEDEF head's son, right?"

The look of shock on Giotto's face only confirmed Byakuran's statement further.

Giotto knew of his father's position in the mafia, albeit by accident when his friend G proclaimed Giotto's father one of his heroes when the man visited. Which caused his father to rush them into his room and sit his son down and explain about Vongola and his position, and some gibberish about his mother, safety, and secrets. It was hard to hold his usual concentration when told your father is really a mafioso for the strongest famiglia in the world.

The only question now was who exactly this guy was.

G spoke with a faint voice, "I just realized why you seemed familiar."

Giotto spun his head towards his friend. The red head's was cradling his stomach like whenever he was forced to eat sweets.

"White hair, purple eyes, and a tattoo under your eye. That's- you're Byakuran Gesso."

Byakuran? Giotto turned his head back to the albino. G said that like he was the man was Death himself. He can't be that bad, he's only human.

Byakuran's grin widened, "Ho~! Didn't know I'm so famous that even pinkies know me." He reached in his bag for another marshmallow with a disturbing smile, "Now the question is, what to do with you three?"

Sweat trickled down the side of Giotto's face. The vibes emitting from Byakuran was frightening.

His two friends had most likely felt the same, as their backs were ridged.

The threatening aura vanished and a blank look descended upon Byakuran's face, "Ah."

"Ah?" Giotto questioned.

Asari relaxed and let out a cheerful, "Ah!"

"Ah," G honestly didn't know why the hell the same sound came from himself.

The white-haired man nodded looking oddly serious, "Ah."

Asari burst out laughing. Byakuran dug his hand deeper into his plastic bag.

The two were just a pair suffering from a case of idiocy and insanity.

A small group of men entered panting. One, a brunet, hastily stepped forward bowing.

"Byakuran-sama," the lackey said, "I apologize for the wait." A new marshmallow bag was thrust into the albino's hands, the other being empty. The group stayed waiting for dismissal.

Byakuran ripped open the bag and continued eating.

G and Giotto could only wonder what the hell just happened.

* * *

A shadow crept behind a group of white-clad lackeys that had marched past him.

They were oblivious to there surroundings, and seemed to be just patrolling for the sake of it, so it was easy to sneak behind them. The group turned a corner and the figure snatched one of them that was lagging behind.

Before the unsuspecting man could cry out, he was knocked out with a swift blow to his head. The body was tossed over a shoulder.

The brunet that was the cause smiled playfully. Earlier tension was beginning to reside, and be replaced with a familiar sense of thrill he had gotten on these jobs.

With the body slung over his shoulder, he made his way into the nearest empty room. It just so happened to be the barracks.

The figure fished out objects from around the room. Ropes, hand cuffs, and cloth were tossed in a pile.

Soon the man was tied, gagged, and strapped to the bottom of the low rising beds.

The small teen walked out of the room with brand new attire.

He wore the man's white soldier uniform and sunglasses that happened to be on a nightstand. His brown spiky hair would have to do for now. His spiky brown hair was pretty surprisingly common in the world.

The unlucky man that was tied to the bottom of someone's bed would be found in the morning after the incident. He quit right when he stopped crying from the traumatizing experience of nearly being crushed when the owner of the bed returned. The subordinate who slept on the bed did too.

He felt that if he stayed with them any longer, he'd wake up to the muffle screams of a half-naked man again. It wasn't a pleasant experience for both of them.

Tsuna would usually have felt bad about the entire situation he forced upon the young man, but could only find himself chuckling mischievously. His devilish side was overriding his little angel, like usual.

When his morals appear, the teen would often rethink his life decisions; now wasn't one of those times.

He really loved his job.

"Oof!" Someone ran into Tsuna. Three others continued running, only for a domino effect to occur and they tripped over their fallen comrade and Tsuna.

Tsuna lay stunned for a moment, but scrambled from under the middle-aged man.

"Oh no, we have to hurry!" One of them shouted. They all shot up and continued running. The first to fall, presumably the leader of the domino trio, grabbed Tsuna's collar.

Tsuna was dragged in front of a door, and if he remember the schematics correctly this was-. A bag was shoved into his hands.

"Oi, young'un, you're giving this to Byakuran-sama since it's your fault that we got delayed even longer. If he explodes from lack of sugar, it's on you." The "leader" hissed.

Before Tsuna could respond, the door was opened and he was shoved inside.

He looked around the room and figured out why the alarm must have went off.

In front of him were a certain trio, a blonde, red-head, and raven sat in front of the worst possible man at the moment: Byakuran.

An elbow dug into his gut, and marshmallows were hissed at him. Tsuna glanced down. Oh, right, the bag.

Getting into his subordinate act, Tsuna found himself bowing towards the albino boss, "Byakuran-sama, I apologize for the wait." He placed the marshmallow bag in Byakuran's awaiting arms.

Tsuna joined the domino group again, trying to stop any bile from rising from his stomach. He couldn't believe he just said 'Byakuran-sama'.

The domino group weren't leaving, Tsuna absently noted that they were probably waiting for dismissal. Subordinates did that kind of stuff.

He desperately wanted to slip out unnoticed, but life wasn't kind wince he met Reborn. If he abandoned Reborn's little friends, he'd surely be killed.

The only option left that he had any chance of coming back alive was to move to Antarctica. He's joking. Reborn would find him even in the desolate ice of Antarctica. The only real option Tsuna had left was to somehow get Giotto and the others out of here and away from the crazy mafia boss.

How he would do that, Tsuna had no idea.

His covered eyes observed the four sitting around the small table. Byakuran looked... blissful with his marshmallows.

The three highschoolers – Tsuna had gotten themselves in this situation – were all reacting to their surroundings differently.

Giotto, who was in the middle, looked somewhere in between confusion and caution. While G just looked down-right perplexed.

Asari was smiling goofily, but Tsuna noticed the boys' shoulders weren't relaxed like usual.

Tsuna moved his eyes around the room, no one had spoken yet, but there was no immediate tension in the air.

There was only one pair of double doors, in which they entered. In the middle of the concrete floor was the table the four sat around. A large desk sat across from the door, with an imposing chair resembling a throne sat behind.

It was a basic layout. Also, cluttered with random objects... were those paper airplanes in that pile? The reports did mention that Byakuran was rather odd, but still, who has a world globe with a chibi of them on top of it?!

"I just thought of what to do with you three!" the white-haired male exclaimed. Everyone, except the Domino trio had jumped or flinched at the sudden reaction. "I can use you," he pointed a Giotto, "As a present for the Vongola. The CEDEF head would surely do anything for his son to be safe."

Giotto responded, with a false calmness, "I would reassure you, that is a bad idea. The... Vongola wouldn't let that happen."

Tsuna slid his ring discreetly on his finger. The Gesso had only mentioned Giotto, but he had a feeling that the other two weren't going to be let go.

"You four." Byakuran ordered with a smile, "The other two," Tsuna relaxed his muscles. "Kill them."

"Yes, Byakuran-sama." The trio said at once pulling out guns.

Giotto, G, and Asari wouldn't be able to react in the matter of seconds when the triggers would be undoubtedly pulled. A look of horror was barely able to begin forming on their faces when the guns were aimed at two of their heads.

A serious of shots rang out.

They didn't hit their intended targets, Tsuna had made sure of that.

When the subordinates fingers were about to press down on the triggers, he reacted. His foot swept to trip one of the men closest to him, Lackey #1. The man's finger pressed down unknowingly, and bullets narrowly missed Byakuran's head and continued spraying upwards.

With the momentum of the leg sweep, Tsuna spun himself behind Lackey #2 and yanked him back with enough force to be knocked harshly into the wall behind.

Lackey #3 brought his gun towards Tsuna versus the students. The medium-sized handgun was yanked in the mere seconds it was aimed in his direction. The butt of the gun was brought to hit #3's head.

Tsuna ran back to #1 and kicked the man before he got back up. His head thudded with ground unpleasantly, resulting in the same lose of consciousness as the other two.

He didn't stop though. Byakuran hadn't even stood up, and Tsuna ran and slid onto the table. The barrel of the gun was pressed firmly onto the man's forehead. And yet, Byakuran was still smiling eating marshmallows.

He figured out why the man hadn't moved to defend himself when five figures appeared out of nowhere. No weapons were pointed at his head, but he knew it wouldn't have made a difference; they're weapons were their flames.

A teal-haired man, Kikyo.

Another man Zakuro , but with shaggy red-haired.

Daisy, a man with long wavy green hair.

A blue-haired girl, Bluebell.

And a masked-man called Torikabuto.

They were the Gesso Famiglia's guardians, and Tsuna was pointing a gun at their boss.

It occurred to Tsuna that the reason Byakuran didn't need to raise a hand was because he had settled for sitting back and watching the show.

"Who are you?"


	6. Mission Complete, I Think

**(A/N) **The fight scene was so much work with all of the characters I had to incorporate, but a fun challenge to write.

And my gosh, I reached 100+ follows. ヽ(；▽；)ノ I'm so overjoyed, that there's a high chance I'm exuding sunshine, flowers, and rainbows. My family has been staring at me oddly; I think they may have spotted a leprechaun at my imaginary rainbows. Of course, I'm joking, but that would awesome. XD

* * *

_Mission Complete, I Think  
_

* * *

Reborn was staring at the scene. His eyes were filled with a sadistic light at what Tsuna did to the guard only to get dragged into delivering marshmallows. He almost wished he had brought popcorn.

But his amusement dissipated and morphed into anger when Byakuran told his lackeys to put a bullet in the kids' heads. His grip on Leon was making the lizard in gun form uncomfortable.

Then Tsuna's reaction caused his aura promising imminent doom to go back to amusement.

The kid could fight well, but obviously wasn't up to his own level. Reborn was the best at everything; anyone who disagrees earns a a trip to the ICU.

The screen flashed bright white and the light shut off, leaving the screen and the surrounding ones black. Reborn smirked and pulled out the USB.

The connected computers began rebooting.

It was time he left. He'll leave it to Tsuna to get the three imbeciles away from Byakuran.

* * *

"Who are you?"

Tsuna's mind was racing. His hands tightened around the gun.

This is what he feared the most, getting caught. No, what's he saying? He didn't get caught going through their vaults; he personally revealed himself when he got caught up in the moment.

His eyes didn't wander from the albino, but he could feel the presence of the others.

Especially Giotto, Asari, and G.

They were still shaken by the Gesso's and his actions.

"Answer," another voice snapped; Tsuna didn't dare take his eyes from his target to look at who spoke.

He took a steadying breath and deepened his voice, "Nobody."

"I guess Nobody's pointing a gun at me then." Byakuran smiled blissfully at his own joke.

Tsuna rolled his eyes at the pun, "Sure."

They all stayed still, unsure of what would happen next. Byakuran held his marshmallow bag in front of him, "Want some?"

"Such a kind offer," sarcasm was heavily applied to Tsuna's words, "But I'll have to decline."

Byakuran stared at him for a while, but proceeded to stuff his mouth (again). Tsuna held the gun still, but a sweat drop ran down the side of his face. _Does he ever stop eating?_

"Geez," one of his guardians drawled out, "Can we stop delaying and kill this guy, Byakuran-sama?"

Byakuran grinned, "Go ahead."

Tsuna jolted back and grabbed forced the table to flip up. He hastily grabbed Giotto's wrist and G and Asari's sleeves during the distraction. The three were snapped from their fear into confusion when they were forcibly dragged towards the door.

Daisy and Kikyo appeared in front of them, causing them to skid to a halt.

Tsuna let go of the three and shoved his gun into G's arm. Out of the three, he seemed the most likely to know how to use it.

Kikyo smirked and starts walking casually forward.

"Run on my mark." Tsuna rasped.

Asari looked at Tsuna, "Mark?"

Tsuna nodded then launched himself towards Kikyo with a punch ready. Kikyo caught his closed left hand and raised his own, but Tsuna grabbed Kikyo's arm and threw him onto Daisy.

The three realize that was the signal and sprint towards the metal doors. Giotto fumbled with the handle for a bit and pulled the door open.

Zakuro placed his hand on Giotto's shoulder, "Now, now, I don't omph-!" A flash of brown crashed into Zakuro. The two slid across the concrete floor away from the students.

Giotto and the other two ran out into the connecting hallway when Tsuna was thrown off of Zakuro into the wall next to the door. His body collided with the wall and a fire extinguisher's case.

The force of Tsuna's body was thrown at was enough to cause cracks to form. The glass case shattered. His body slide down onto the ground; glass dug into his skin.

Tsuna propped himself up on his elbows and forced his body to twist. His leg rammed into the steel door, closing it in case any of the guardians decided to go after the three teens.

The brunet looked up and to his horror, he saw a hoard of snakes flying in his direction. He quickly scrambled to the left, only to see the wave collide- no go straight through the wall where Tsuna was just at.

Tsuna examined the area and saw Torikabuto creating another wave with mist and lightning flames. Tsuna ran, stumbling at first but then regaining his balance, straight at the mist guardian. The snake dislodged from Torikabuto and shot in his direction. Tsuna activated his ring under his glove and pulled out Natsu's box weapon. He didn't delay, as the snakes were too close for him to dodge, and inserted his sky flame into the box.

The sky lion came out and immediately let out a burst of sky flames, petrifying the snakes. Torikabuto was in temporary state of shock. Tsuna took advantage of his state, by running past and delivering a precise chop to the back of the man's head.

Tsuna felt a smirk tug at his lips when he the masked man dropped and called off Natsu before he ran out of flames to support the cub.

Kikyo ran up and aimed a kick for Tsuna's head. Tsuna ducked, then continued to dodge jabs and kicks Kikyo sent his way until his back hit the wall. Kikyo's fist came towards Tsuna, but Tsuna dove out from the attack. He rolled and got up, bent on running from more oncoming attacks until he... tripped on one of the guns from his previous scuffle.

Zakuro came up while Tsuna was still on the ground and slammed his foot into the small brunet's stomach. He rose his foot again, but Tsuna rolled away when it crashed back down into the ground. Tsuna coughed up some blood, and tried to raise himself back up when someone's hands wrenched him up by his hair.

It was Daisy. Tsuna wriggled in the man's grasp and tried to use his hands to pry his grip away from Tsuna's hair. The grip was too strong, so Tsuna raised his leg and kicked Daisy.

Daisy's grip loosened, and Tsuna tore from his grip.

Right when he got away from Daisy, Kikyo and Zakuro restrained him.

He gasped as he was lifted, unable to trash his arms or legs because the two men were holding them still.

Byakuran laughed with Bluebell clinging to him like a Koala. The show was definitely entertaining.

Kikyo smirked and he and Zakuro tossed the struggling brunet in front of Byakuran.

Tsuna groaned as white spots filled his vision when he impacted the ground. His body was sore and pain was spiking randomly from all of the hits he had taken.

Byakuran leaned forward and poked the brunets cheek, "Ne," _poke_. "You're interesting." _Poke._ "You'll make a good toy."

Tsuna tried to shift away from the constant poking, but was unable to because of the pain. He was barely able to make out the man's voice over the blood pounding in his ears. _Toy...?_

"Ugh," Tsuna groaned painfully, this situation only got worse. But, he supposed that he was spared from death by the Gesso.

Hopefully death by Reborn won't happen anytime soon either, assuming the three escaped already.

* * *

The sound of bodies falling resonated. Reborn scowled, couldn't they fall quieter? Useless.

He continued his way down the hall, knocking out unfortunate souls in his path.

The hit man strolled through the maze to the exit. The ladder was right in front of him now.

Then three presences appeared not to far from him, and closing in fast.

A wicked grin nearly made its way onto Reborn's lips; his naturally sadistic self was having so much fun. He blended in with the shadows and snuck towards them. The sadist was about to knock out yet another party, but instead the three happened to be a blonde, a red-head, and a raven.

He really wanted to transform Leon into a giant mallet, but alas, the extra baggage would be difficult to drag.

The blonde's eyes widened, "R-Reborn!" The three skid into a halt.

A mischievous glint shone in the hit man's black eyes. He always loved it when he got the bundle of calmness to stutter.

The three musketeers were here, so Tsuna...? Amusement left Reborn as he deduced what must have happened.

His head gestured towards the ladder. "Out. Now."

The three teens nodded and Asari was made to rise first. A groan permeated the scuffling of their feet. Giotto just happened to trip over one of the body, causing the man to be forced awake. The man attempted to get up.

Reborn spun towards the direction of the noise. G, who was right behind Giotto, let out a small shriek and pressed the trigger of his gun (Reborn had somewhat of an idea where it came from). The bang was followed by the man collapsing and clutching his foot moaning in pain.

Reborn kicked the man's head, in order to knock him back under.

He shot a look at the three and hissed, "What are you waiting for? Hurry."

The three nodded and soon all four were rushing through the surrounding forest. Reborn was leading them in a different direction than they enter. The forest ended and they were in the shopping center.

Hardly no one was there as it was night.

A black sedan was waiting and Reborn ushered the boys into the back seat, and got in the passenger side himself. The driver pressed on the gas with a nod from Reborn.

* * *

Currently, Tsuna was on the ground, in pain, and to top it off, being poked! Was this some new form of torture? If so, it's very effective.

Byakuran and Bluebell were on either side of Tsuna, poking both of his cheeks. Every now and then, they had the nerve to tug at them.

Tsuna really regretted taking the Vongola up on the offer – not like he had a choice.

The grinning albino offered marshmallows to Tsuna again. He was still smiling.

Irritation started to build at his situation. "Can you please stop it?" The brunet whined.

Byakuran's grin widened, but he continued poking happily, "Only if you answer the question!"

"Ugh- fine," Tsuna groaned, he just wanted to sleep through the pain, "Ta-Tanaka Mamoru."

The poking ceased, and Tsuna was grateful.

"Tanaka Mamoru..." A look of concentration came onto the man's face, "I don't have a Tanaka Mamoru. Just a Tanaka Nobu. So why-?" A playful smirk came onto his face, "Oh, I see. Looks like we have another intruder."

Bluebell let out an over dramatic gasp, and clung back onto Byakuran.

Tsuna didn't even try to deny it, what was the use when they could easily confirm he was lying?

Byakuran flicked Tsuna's forehead, "I'll come to play with you later, ne, Tanaka-san?" Byakuran sent a sharp look towards Kikyo, "Escort him out."

The teal-haired man yanked Tsuna up and drug him out of the room. Tsuna was dragged harshly throughout the series of hallways, up the ladder, and thrown out the shrine. Trying to catch his breath, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for the real Tanaka Mamoru.

The man could easily be mistaken for him; the only difference were the eyes. And miraculously, the orange aviators stayed on his face, covering the entirity of his doe eyes.

Tanaka-san was going to have possibly the worst day in his life when the Gesso rung on his door bell.

* * *

"Reborn-san," Asari spoke, "Could you please explain what just happened?"

They were currently in a car, going towards a district in Namimori that housed warehouses and storage.

Reborn didn't grace him with a response, which wasn't a good sign for the three (and the poor driver) in the car.

When Reborn resorted to ignoring people he was either:

a.) Messing with them.

b.) Plotting some evil plan.

c.) Pissed.

Going off the murderous intent, they'll go with c.

Despite this red light, G spoke up, "R-reborn-san? Could you _please_," he didn't say please often, "tell us why the Gesso Famiglia are here?"

The hit man turned his head and extended his hand back, "Gun."

G's eyes widened. He had hoped Reborn wouldn't notice. "Fine," the gun-savvy teen sulked, and put the gun he had hidden in his pajamas in the hit man's hand.

Everyone keeps taking his guns from him saying if he wanted to stay out of the mafia, then he should abide by the laws. It wasn't fair.

Was it really too much to ask for to let him keep his gun collection? He may have used once or twice, but that's besides the point.

The raven tucked the gun away. "I am not obliged to tell you my business."

Giotto frowned, "After tonight, I believe we deserve an explanation Reborn."

Reborn shot an annoyed look at the blonde, "What you deserve is to be disciplined to mind your own business."

The three's faces paled. "Now, Reborn, there's no need to do anything drastic." Giotto reasoned.

"Giotto?" Reborn said.

The blonde started sweating, "Y-yes?"

Reborn returned his gaze to the windshield, "Shut it."

Giotto gulped and nodded.

The rest of the ride was silent until they stopped in front of a warehouse. The driver sped off, and the three students followed Reborn in the building.

Upon entering, Giotto and his two friends were surprised at the massive monitor and people. The Vongola insignia was currently taking up the screen.

Reborn tossed a USB he took from his pocket to one of the Vongola's staff. The woman caught it, and secured it into one of the computers' ports.

The small unit rushed into their chairs to set to work on separate computers, as the giant screen lit up with the Vongola Nono's kind face.

"Ah, you and Bambi have finished already, Reborn?" Nono asked.

G choked on air, _Bambi_? Giotto and Asari stood confused at the significance of the name.

Reborn's fedora cast a shadow over his eyes. Nono understood, "I see."

"B-Bambi?!" G shouted. His friends sent him a startled jump. "As in the Bambi?! But where?"

Reborn shook his head like it was obvious, "The kid of course."

G's jaw fell open, "That k-kid is Bambi!"

Giotto tried to calm his best friend down. Asari laughed, "Who's Bambi?"

The red-head spluttered, "How don't you know who Bambi is?!"

Giotto scratched the back of his head, "I don't know either G."

"Why is my grandson and his friends here, Reborn?" Timoteo frowned, evidently distressed.

Reborn gripped his fedora and shot a glare promising pain towards the three in question. "That's what I would like to know Nono." he hissed in their direction, "The mission was going smoothly before they stuck their noses in it."

"Hey!" Giotto interrupted, "It's not our fault."

Reborn's eye twitched, "And might I ask how it isn't?"

The blonde took a step back, "U-um!" He started stuttering nonsense, "You! Kill-! innocent! Woods! Obliged to-! A damsel! Hero's have to-! The woods- OW! Reborn!"

Giotto cradled the back of his head where Reborn had the sudden need to high-five with a ten-ton mallet.

Timoteo sent a disapproving look at him. Reborn rolled his eyes, "It was necessary Nono."

The Vongola head sighed at his personal assassin's antics. Maybe introducing Reborn to Iemitsu was a mistake?

Asari laughed nervously, "So, how does this Bambi tie into all of this?"

"Bambi," G started slowly so the empty-headed teen could follow, "Is a famous thief. Possibly one of the best! No one knows what he looks like, or if he is male!" His eyes sparkled a bit.

Reborn snorted, "Yeah, no one."

A blush began forming on G's face, "E-except for us."

"I still don't get it." Giotto rose his hand like he would in class. G smacked the back of his head, right on the lump that was forming from Reborn. Giotto yelped in pain.

"Giotto." His proclaimed grandfather's voice called.

The teen perked up, "Yes, Grandpa?"

"Your mother must be panicking with you missing. Reborn will take you three home."

A sadistic gaze was directed at them. The teens grimaced.

"It was nice speaking to all of you again. Goodbye." Nono hesitated but continued, "I'll have my men look into the matter of Bambi's fate... . I'll let you know what his... state is when I'm informed, okay Reborn?"

Reborn shifted his weight awkwardly, "He's... a good kid."

Nono smiled sadly, "I know."

The screen shut off with that last statement.

* * *

Tsuna had managed to limp into his hotel room without anyone seeing. The task was easy as only the receptionist was awake.

The teen collapsed onto the bed. God he was exhausted.

But he can't doze off now, he needed to treat his wounds.

Tsuna left out more groans, but reached for his half-smashed cell. The top and bottom of the flip phone were barely hanging together by wires. His poor phone.

The brunet pressed down on the 'on' button, and he let out a squeal of glee when the phone turned on. His side burned from the exclamation.

His fingers hit a number he had memorized; it rung.

The phone clicked when the other end was answered. "Hello? This is-."

"Nono?" Tsuna groaned in pain. His throat felt like it was on fire.

The man gasped, "Bambi?"

"Y-yeah." Tsuna breathed in, "I didn't find... i-it."

There was a short silence, "I see."

Tsuna breath was labored "N-Nono?"

"Yes, Bambi?" Nono responded.

Tsuna clutched at his side, "Could you- hah- call R-Reborn..." he gulped, his throat was stinging, "Hah, and tell... him my results...? I would myself, but -hah." Tsuna's arm started shaking, "Yeah... ."

Timoteo's voice was quiet, "Keep on the line; I'll send Reborn over."

"N-no! It's fine," Tsuna rasped, but Nono had already switched lines.

He dropped the phone to his side. His fingers grazed across his ribs, they were probably bruised.

He didn't know how long he laid there, but it was long enough for his adrenaline to completely run out. Getting up seemed like an impossible task at the moment.

* * *

Reborn had herded his current charges into the Sawada house. He made sure they were all tucked in with trip-wires cozily hugging them. He closed the open window in the guest room.

A note was left on the kitchen counter apologizing to Nana, since he and Tanaka-san had to leave right away.

The hit man locked the door behind him, and walked to the hotel he was staying at. It was a different one than Tsuna's, but he liked the traditional Japanese theme it presented.

His phone vibrated. Nono was printed as the contact.

He answered the phone, "Hello?" Why was Nono calling him? They had just talked.

"Bambi is at the Rising Sun Hotel, most likely in his room, but the trace isn't that exact. He sounded injured." The Vongola's normally strong voice wavered at the last sentence.

Reborn started running out of his hotel into the parking lot; Tsuna's hotel was only a five minute drive from where his was.

"I'm on it, Nono." He stated.

"Reborn?" Nono's voice was watery.

Reborn unlocked his sports car, "Yes?" Nono almost sounded like he was going to cry, but he wasn't one for tears despite his kind nature.

"I shouldn't have sent a child." The watery tone was gone, replaced with a blank regretful one.

"Nono... ." Reborn started his car. How was he supposed to reply? Emotions weren't his specialty.

He backed out from his space and speed out with his tires squealing.

Nono's voice became loud and boss-like again, "Just take care of him all right?"

Reborn allowed himself a small smile, "Of course."

He hung up and pressed even more on the gas pedal.

It wasn't even three minutes yet when his car screeched to a stop in front of the Rising Sun Hotel.

In the remaining two minutes of the five, Reborn had rushed up the ten flights of stairs and into the only open door.

He slammed the door behind him and switched on the lights.

Tsuna was on the bed. Reborn felt relief wash over when the boy's chest rose gently.

Cuts, bruises, and scraps were scattered on him. Blood was trickling around big and small shards of glass that were imbedded in Tsuna's skin, but nothing life threatening.

Fixable.

Reborn looked around the room until he spotted a duffle bag.

He emptied out its contents, Tsuna might have a first aid kit. And unsurprisingly, one fell out on top of the clothes and other necessities.

The raven plopped beside Tsuna and started tending the little wounds.

"R-Reborn?" The brunet made out.

The hit man shook his head, "The Vongola medics will be hear soon. I'm tending your wounds for the time being."

Even though he has a sun dying will flame, he only knew how to use it for combat. He would never admit to anyone that he was unable to use his own flame's most basic property. Pride was something the hit man had too much of.

Reborn was removing glass when Tsuna groaned clutching his side. Not the best sign. Reborn frowned and took off the white uniform's shirt to make sure nothing too bad was underneath.

The same bruises and scraps covered his torso, but their was one particularly nasty bruise covered a large area of the brunet's chest and side.

He pulled out his phone and texted the location to their Vongola medical squad nearby. Reborn may be the best, but he wasn't a medical professional.

Tsuna began speaking again, "Why-."

"Don't force yourself to speak," Reborn snapped, "Your ribs could be broken or fractured, so just concentrate on breathing and keeping conscious."

The teen listened to Reborn and fell silent. Reborn continued his process of removing glass and disinfecting wounds.

A resounding knocking hit the door. Reborn stopped what he was doing and went to open the door.

The medics were carrying large cases. They bowed to Reborn and entered the room.

"We'll take it from here, Reborn-sama." One of them said.

Reborn nodded in response and sat on an arm chair in the corner of the room.

His eyes didn't close, but a near silent snore indicated that the hit man had drifted off to sleep.


	7. It's the Omelet's Fault

**(A/N)** I now have 100+ favorites too now! As a thank you for all of your support I made this is my longest chapter yet with approximately 5,800 words; it's a record for me. :D

In this chapter I jumped around with some random school information, so I'm sorry if I just confused anyone. I literally just pulled out all of my present and past school notes and opened to random pages for what I wrote, but I tried to stick to the general ones.

Also, I usually reply to reviews personally, but I can't do that with guests. So to "Zex", my story certainly has R27 potential, but I have yet to decide if I want to write that. I love the pairing, yet it really depends on how the story develops.

* * *

It's the Omelet's Fault

* * *

Every shard, down to the miniscule splinters, were removed. The medical team used sun flames to close Tsuna's various cuts, his bruises were less gruesome, and the pressure on his ribs alleviated somewhat.

They told him he was lucky to only have bruised ribs and nothing serious; they did lightly bind his chest however.

The Vongola specialists had him patched up within an hour. When they left, the head had made sure to give Tsuna pain relievers along with pills with little dosages of sun flames, enough to increase his recovery rate without any harmful side effects.

So Tsuna was quickly left alone with Reborn snoozing in a chair across the room. He wouldn't have minded much if not for Reborn's sleeping habits; he slept with his eyes open.

Wide open!

It was freaking him out. How does someone fall asleep like that? Could the hit man even see while unconscious?

The better question would probably be, why don't his eyes dry out?

A theory popped into Tsuna's head, but he would need to examine the new specie 'Reborn' up close.

Tsuna swung his leg over the bed only feeling a slight reminder of his body's state thanks to the pain killers. He made sure to blend his presence with the surroundings and move silently.

The doe-eyed male crouched in front of Reborn and stared under the shadow of the man's fedora.

He had an odd temptation to reach out and see if his curly sideburns would bounce...no! He mentally slapped his cheeks, I have to stay focused!

His big honey-brown eyes stared at Reborn's own coal black irises. They were definitely moist, but it's not there!

Tsuna leaned over and changed his angle so he would look up rather than directly into the hit man's eyes. It just didn't make any sense! Where are his second eye lids?

That was the only logical explanation, that Reborn had some sort of mutation and developed clear eyelids like crocodiles. But his theory was debunked.

Tsuna leaned in closer, trying to see if this was a trick of some kind. Maybe Reborn was just a really excellent artist? His hand reached up to prod his eye, but Tsuna thought better of it.

Even if they weren't real, the hit man's instincts would kick in at being touched. So scratch that theory out.

He stared harder, hoping that the answer to this riddle will present itself.

"What are you doing?" Reborn demanded.

Tsuna jumped and lost his balance. He unfortunately fell forward due to physics; his head collided sharply with Reborn's.

It didn't help that the chair had a weak structure, causing one of the thin wooden legs to snap. And it definitely didn't help that Tsuna was still disorientated and managed to trip over the falling chair, bringing Reborn – who had started getting up – toppling over the tan arm chair.

Each half of Tsuna's body was hanging over opposite side, while Reborn was laying right next to him just as awkwardly sprawled across the chair but unlike Tsuna, his feet were only connected with the cushion seat.

Tsuna smiled sheepishly at the man next to him, "Sorry."

Reborn sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Wait through his hair? Tsuna frowned, he felt like something was missing when his vision was suddenly blocked.

He reacted and was about to elbow the man or woman that had snuck up behind him in the gut when he realized Reborn's was the only other presence in the room.

Tsuna lifted his hand to remove what had obstructed his view when it was removed on its own and a light weight was lifted with it.

Reborn's hand was retreating with the object and plopped it onto his head. That's when Tsuna realized that the hit man's hat had landed on his head.

Reborn's eyes suddenly became focused solely on him, lingering over his bandages and fading bruises.

Reborn furrowed his eyebrows, "What's the damage?"

Tsuna's mouth opened, Reborn actually sounded concerned. Pink tinted his cheeks, he wasn't used to his well-being being cared about, "I just h-have bruises left. My ribs are badly bruised, and luckily weren't fractured."

The hit man's eyes shadowed over, "I see."

Tsuna frowned and was about to question the hit man's words when a hand forced his face to plant into the chair's back. The hand was replaced by a foot when Reborn stood up.

"When I got here, you looked like you were on the brink of death. Yet you 'just have bruises'!" Tsuna tried to say something, but his voice was only muffled sound due to the foot forcing him to eat fabric. Leon transformed into a mallet "You're going to have much more than 'just bruises' when I'm done with you," A sadistic grin came onto Reborn's face, "Shall we have fun, Tsuna?"

A shriek of terror was muffled, but that didn't stop Reborn from playing Whack-a-Mole with a certain brunet rather than the burrowing mammal... close enough.

* * *

Tsuna was staring at the breakfast in front of him. He was currently at the Sawada residence.

The hotel Tsuna had been staying out had politely told him and Reborn that they were no longer welcomed. Tsuna had never been kicked out of a hotel before; he practically lived in them.

Apparently, they have a no violence policy. Who knew?

And just a random fact, but because of an 'excess of undesirables' in Namimori the hotels share names of unwanted guests.

So Reborn's and Tsuna's 'names' were added to the list.

When they were on the curb Reborn had tossed Tsuna (and his luggage) into his car. The man had a disturbing smirk, and Tsuna had long since figured out that Reborn had many different smirks, this one happened to be his evil plotting smirk.

Definitely unnerving.

The brunet had calmed down though when they reached the Sawada house. The moment their feet touched the property Nana knew; Tsuna swore he had never met a stranger woman than her. She had opened the door before they even knocked, and told them that breakfast was ready.

Which left him in his current situation, staring at an omelet with an empty stomach.

He smiled, grateful for the food, "Thank you, Nana-san."

The woman laughed cheerfully, "Please call me Mama." The smile on her face left no room for argument.

"Of course," Tsuna felt warmth rushing to his cheeks and he found himself stuttering, "M-Mama."

Nana just laughed and went back into the kitchen to do the clean up. She left three bentos at the end of the table.

Reborn was already eating his omelet. Tsuna 's stomach grumbled, so he decided to dig in as well. His doe eyes widened at the first bite.

It was a simple omelet with vegetables and cheese inside, but my god was it delicious.

The egg was cooked with the right amount of fluffiness and was still pertaining the perfect temperature to be eaten at. The vegetables were a sliced combination of mushrooms, onions, and greens with warm cheese melted in between. Each bite caused his taste buds to cry tears of joy.

Forget delicious, this masterpiece was heavenly. He was sure he was grinning like an idiot.

He cut another piece and brought the slice to his mouth, but he didn't taste his omelet; his chopsticks were empty.

Tsuna frowned and went to get cut another piece from his omelet when he saw Reborn chewing contentedly... with an extra omelet on his plate.

Correction: _Tsuna's_ omelet.

At this discovery Tsuna did the only thing he could do, put operation SMO into play, also known as 'Save My Omelet'.

Reborn closed his eyes and hummed savoring his breakfast. Tsuna struck, and in a flash his chopsticks were not only gripping the rest of his omelet, but Reborn's too.

Reborn was still chewing when he brought his own pair of chopsticks down, only to find an empty plate. The hit man's eyes opened.

Tsuna resisted the urge to chuckle, as he wolfed down the rest of the omelets with Reborn watching in pure hatred.

Tsuna finished the last bite. "Something the matter, Reborn?" He asked with innocent eyes, but who was he fooling? He may have innocent eyes, but his smirk said otherwise.

Reborn didn't respond; his glare only increased in intensity. Tsuna widened his smirk, and Reborn's glare darkened in turn.

That was when Tsuna's rationality decided to remind him of the bumps aching on his head. _Maybe I should start running?_

The raven's glare was replaced with something far worse, that special sadistic gleam only Reborn got. That twinkle in his eyes told Tsuna many things.

One, he had made a horrible mistake.

Two, it was useless to run.

And Three... his pain killer dosage may need to be upped.

The brunet licked his lips nervously, "He-hey," he slowly got up and started backing out the dining room, "I'm just going to go to the restroom r-real quick, okay?"

Reborn pushed back from the table, Leon was already transformed into green rope. "I'm sure you can wait until after we finish a little game."

Without a moment to spar, Tsuna spun around and ran out into the hallway when he collided into a blonde.

"T-Tanaka-san!" Giotto pulled Tsuna into a bear hug, "Thank god you're safe! We were so worried!"

Tsuna started to pale his voice in a harsh whisper, "Giotto-san!" His face started to get a blue-tint, "Please..." he gasped, "Le-let go!"

Giotto's blue eyes widened comically and immediately released the blue teen. Tsuna took in precious air. The brunet's color returned after a minute of gasping for breath.

"I'm sorry! I was just worried after I realized that you were the one to save us, and we left you behind. I'm older, so I have a duty to protect you instead of the other way around." Giotto blabbered, he was shaking Tsuna's shoulders now.

The blonde took a deep breath and his eyes became sharp, "Don't ever do that again, understand?"

Tsuna almost nodded at the authoritative tone. Instead he tilted his head at the sudden urgency, "Huh?"

Giotto let a long sigh and his eyes, became softer. "I said, 'Don't ever do that again.'"

His throat felt dry. Tsuna wasn't sure how to respond, and honestly the sudden heaviness of his mouth probably would've prevented him from even stringing a proper sentence.

Blue continued to pierce into his own brown, waiting for an answer.

Then the sound of footsteps, arguing, and laughing was heard. Asari and G walked into the dining room. Giotto was still waiting for an answer when G decided to interrupt.

"Bambi! Er, I mean, Tanaka-san." G said hurriedly, but under his breath he muttered, "I still can't believe he's just a kid."

Giotto's hand were thrown off of Tsuna's shoulders, when he spun around. The doe-eyes were widened at Reborn. " You told them?" He asked dumbly.

Reborn shrugged, Leon was back in his original form, "It might have slipped."

His eyes shone with frustration. _It might have slipped? _The brunet marched in front of the nonchalant hit man. "How am I supposed to live a comfortable, _anonymous_ life with you going around telling people who I am?!" Reborn gave a small chuckle at his pout. He opened his mouth to tell off Reborn for laughing.

Giotto smiled and reassured the brunet, "It's fine Tanaka-san. You don't have to worry about us."

Tsuna turned his head and gaped. _How can he act like what I do is nothing?_

"Well, Reborn is a hit man. G is the son of a mob boss. And my dad is the head of CEDEF, so it's normal."

Giotto's words took a while to process, as Tsuna was mentally banging his head on a wall for talking aloud on accident, but the information stuck. "Wait, CEDEF?"

The blonde nodded happily. So that's why Byakuran mentioned the CEDEF, and why Reborn was so protective of Namimori. He had heard – from a source he can not disclose – that the CEDEF had Vongola blood, so if he ever had a son... .

"Yep." Giotto replied simply.

Nana came out from the kitchen, "Ara? Gio-kun, shouldn't you and your friends have already left for school? If you don't hurry you're friend will have to come pick you up again."

Giotto paled, Asari laughed nervously, and G started breathing curses.

Reborn snickered, "Actually, you're already late."

Tsuna's eyes widened momentarily when he felt a fast approaching presence outside, and he instinctively relaxed his body for any upcoming assaults. But Reborn shot him a quick look of amusement and shook his head.

"Oh g-OD!" A handcuff collided with Giotto's head with enough force to knock him down.

More hand cuffs flew from the window, and clasped onto the three students and the three were soon bound together. A dirty blonde appeared through the open window.

"Sawada Giotto, you and your dogs have failed to arrive at school on time once again." A blood thristy grin appeared on the teen's face, "Physical discipline has obviously no affect on you three, so I shall be implementing special punishments for delinquents, like yourself."

Giotto and his friends shrunk into themselves.

Tsuna blinked at the scene, what in the world? He decided that he should try to say something to save the teens from the other.

"Um, excuse me..." Slanted blue eyes turned on him, and seemed to evaluate Tsuna.

The high schooler walked up to him, "Shouldn't you be in school, little one?"

His mouth fell open, _did he just call me _"Little one?"

Hand cuffs swung down to clasp around his own wrists, except, they didn't. Instead Tsuna had automatically clasped onto the male's wrist and twisted him around. The teen's eyes widened when he was forcibly turn and slammed into the wall. A foot was pressed on his back along with his hands being held awkwadly behind his back with enough force to incapacitate him. The grip was too strong, so he tried to trash his legs back, but his position posed an issue for that.

G whistled, impressed, "I guess you are the real deal."

Tsuna's eyes became refocused and widened when he saw he was still holding the other in place. He quickly let the teen go. The blonde teen's eyes were still wide with shock and curiosity.

Tsuna bowed, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to pin you down like that... uh."

"Alaude." he provided. Alaude examined Tsuna with an even closer eye, "And your name?"

"Uh, my name is Tsu-Ta-..." Shoot, what was he supposed to say, he shouldn't use Tanaka now since the run in with the Gesso, but the others think my name is Tanaka still.

A snort came from the side of the room, "Just go with Tsuna."

"Why would you call Tanaka-san Tsuna?" Asari asked curiously, but he was ignored.

Tsuna sighed, "You know, for the world's greatest hit man, you sure have a careless with information."

Reborn forced a smile and patted Tsuna's head much to the boy's ire, "Poor, poor Tsuna, you'd have to tell them eventually considering we'll be staying here for a while. I'm only helping you out."

"Explain." Alaude demanded.

Reborn grinned maliciously. "Tsuna." Reborn addressed.

Color was draining from Tsuna's face, "Yes?"

"Remember to never steal my breakfast again."

Tsuna gasped, Reborn wouldn't. But Reborn was a sadistic bastard who loved causing distress.

"No-." Reborn's hand covered Tsuna's mouth, and he smirked victoriously.

"His name is Tsuna, not Tanaka Mamorou." Asari opened his mouth, but again was ignored. "He lied, which is common for theives." Tsuna struggled, but it proved useless against Reborn. "He's temporarily working with me." Giotto looked like he wanted to ask something this time. "No, Giotto, I told you already to mind your own business."

Tsuna's shoulders slumped in defeat and let out a small sniff. He wasn't a liar; he just made up some stories is all.

Alaude was sitting at the kitchen table, writing away. Giotto was grumbling about Reborn. And Asari and G were watching Tsuna.

But Reborn wasn't done there, "And since Tsuna and I will be staying here for a little bit." There was that glint in the man's black eyes again. "I'm sure he'll be more than happy to experience Namimori's great schools."

"Bambi will go to our school?!" G shouted.

Reborn shot a glare at him. "Of course not, he's only fourteen."

G's eyes rolled back and he landed with a loud _thud_ on the wooden floor. Reborn really couldn't blame him, Bambi's age shocked him too; however, that didn't stop him from taking pleasure in G's humiliation.

Alaude took out his phone and pressed a few buttons before shutting it. "It has been arranged. The little one is expected to start school today, so he'll be excused for tardiness for today. He can get his uniform in Namimori Middle School's front office."

The disciplinarian placed a map of Namimori along with a small note on the table.

Tsuna let out some muffled shouts of refusal, but Alaude had already disappeared through the window.

Reborn removed his hand, and wiped it on the back of Tsuna's t-shirt.

"Next time don't slobber." Reborn stated scrunching up his nose in distaste, "You four better hurry."

The three students yelped and grabbed their awaiting bentos and bolted out the door.

Giotto shouted on his way out, "Sorry Tsuna-san!"

Tsuna stared as the kitchen door shut, then to Reborn.

"So why am I going to school?" He asked numbly. The word itself was daunting. _School_... he shivered at the thought.

Reborn just smirked and 'lightly' elbowed him in the ribs. Tsuna winced, the pain killers only worked so much.

"For one, to watch you suffer." Tsuna scowled, he knew it. "For another, since your still recovering and we have yet to receive word from Nono we might as well do something while we're stuck here." Reborn said.

"Why can't I just recover in peace-?" Tsuna stopped, "Wait we?"

Reborn's smirk only widened, "Of course, I'm still curious about you, so what better way to learn about you than to see how you interact in day-to-day life?"

The brunet wondered if he'll still be sane by the end of the week.

* * *

Tsuna tucked the map away when he arrived in front of his new school. He still held the note in his hands. It was rather simple, so he wasn't sure if he would truly get into this school with just it:

_Give the little one the uniform._

_He starts today, and is excused for being tardy._

_Name: Tsuna_

_Age: 14_

_- Alaude_

Tsuna sighed. He felt a steadily approaching presence. Was he really going to a school?

"Are you the Herbivore?"

Tsuna ignored the nickname and nodded.

The teen who had spoke resembled Alaude greatly, and Tsuna would bet they were brothers. He held the note out with a slight bow.

If they really were brothers, he sure wasn't going to go out of his way to piss him off.

The teen read the note, and tucked it in his uniform. "Go to the front desk."

Tsuna nodded again and began to move, but was stopped by a tonfa held in front of his nose. Tsuna struggled to keep the incredulous look off his face.

"Break any rules, Herbivore, and I will bite you to death." The teen threatened, then walked off like nothing happened.

_There's no doubt... they're brothers,_ Tsuna thought sweat dropping.

He entered the main building and gave the secretary his note. The man smiled at him and gave him his uniform in a bag.

Tsuna was given another slip for his class, and sent off.

He changed in a bathroom and started his way to his class. The new note was just telling his teacher the Hibari's had said he was to be a new student with the same information Alaude had provided.

Tsuna couldn't help but let out a snort. What kind of school would welcome a student with their background and vacinations, let alone a surname?

Namimori was a weird town with even weirder inhabitants.

He stopped in front of a door marked '2-A'.

With a deep breath Tsuna straightened his shoulders and knocked lightly on the sliding door.

Seconds passed and Tsuna had the urge to run, but then the door slid open.

A Japanese man was staring at him, "Is there something you need?"

Tsuna held out the note, and the teacher grabbed it. The man's face turned from mild confusion to fear, then he stuffed the note away.

"O-okay, then. Come in and introduce yourself to the class."

Tsuna silently stepped in after the teacher and faced the class. He gulped at the sudden attention.

The teacher was staring at him expectantly.

How were you supposed to introduce yourself in Japanese schools again? Oh, yeah. "Good morning, my name is Tsuna. Nice to meet you." He bowed, "Please take care of me."

"Ah," a voice exclaimed, "Tanaka-san, right?"

Tsuna paled. He remembered the other: Yamamoto Takeshi, he was the sushi chef's son. "U-um, actually I prefer to go by Tsuna usually."

The raven grinned, "Haha, Tsuna then, it's nice to see you again!"

Tsuna offered a small smile. He knew the Japanese weren't so casual to leave proper suffixes off with most, but something told him Yamamoto that it was just his friendly nature.

"Is there any questions for Tsuna-san?" The teacher spoke up.

Various hands shot up. The teacher called on them one by one.

"Sasagawa-san."

A girl with short orange put her hand down, "What's your favorite music?"

Tsuna made something up, "Jazz."

"Osamu-san." A boy was called on.

"Where did you live before Namimori?" Tsuna mentally going through his database of fake identities before choosing one.

"America." Paranoia was handy at times.

Another student was called, "Kurokawa-san."

"What are your favorite color?" She asked with a bored tone. Tsuna had the feeling the girl really could care less.

He answered simply, "Orange."

There were more questions, and they each became more boring or intruding.

Hobbies? Stealing, but he went with reading. Perfectly normal answer.

Favorite food? Salisbury steak, but he went with a random foreign food: menudo. (1) No one understood, but neither did they question.

Blood-type? A, but he answered 'I don't know' to the disbelief of the class. (2)

One student asked for his last name, but he avoided the question without the kid even realizing. Tsuna was still working on a complete background.

After an agonizing five minutes, he was directed to his seat behind a random student. He noticed that there was a student that resembled G, but instead of light red hair and eyes he had silver hair and green eyes.

The class continued with whatever the teacher had been teaching; Tsuna really didn't know, but it probably math or science with all those numbers and weird signs.

Needless to say, Tsuna wasn't feeling to well. All the students kept on to bothering him or force him into clubs. In their defense, transfer students weren't normal in Japan, so the brunet had an imaginary arrow pointing at his head reading 'different.'

He didn't have any supplies either. He was forced to share books with his neighbor. And notes were impossible to take, but that didn't matter, he didn't particularly care for school.

Tsuna was self-taught, but he only taught himself what he had to know.

With school, he had a basic understanding of the material taught, but a basic understanding didn't tell him what the use of matrices were in math or all about the history of Japan.

When the bell rung, signaling the end of the day Tsuna bolted out the door with the small bag of his clothes in hand.

He found himself gasping in front of the Sawada house. Finally, he was away from all of those eyes and white noise. He rose his hand and hesitated. The normality of the situation was absolutely abnormal. Oxymoron? Sure, but exact.

He bit his lip and went through with his action.

"Why are you knocking Tsuna-san?" Giotto asked from behind him.

Tsuna felt his body jolt and clamped his hand over his mouth before a squeak escaped. He was so caught up in his own world that he hadn't sensed anyone approaching. He turned around and saw that Giotto wasn't alone. G was with him along with the look alike and Alaude's brother (?). He added a mental question mark on purpose.

"Tch, what's the wimpy transfer student doing here?" the silver-haired teen ground out, but G shot him a look. "Never mind, just show me Bambi."

Tsuna's eyes turned on G, making them even wider. "Eh? Bambi? What's that?" He said innocently to tick the teen off.

G's smiled twitched, "Oi, it wasn't my fault Hayato's just delusional." No way was G going to admit he slipped, in a day no less.

The door opened and Reborn stepped out in all his glory. Tsuna noted that Hayato transformed from a delinquent into a puppy wagging his tail. He rubbed his eyes thinking it was an illusion. Nope, still there.

* * *

Reborn heard a knock, and answered the door. He smirked when he saw Tsuna. Gokudera Hayato was there too, but he just ignored him and went straight for Tsuna.

"How was your first day?" He teased.

Tsuna had only one reply to Reborn's ever-present smirk, "I hate you."

"You?!" Hayato exclaimed, "How dare you-?!"

"It's only school," Reborn acted like Hayato didn't exist, "Can't be that bad."

Tsuna grumbled darkly under his breath.

Reborn raised a brow surprised at Tsuna's behavior, "Really, it's just school. No need to throw a fit."

The brunet crossed his arms, "Then you go and see how much you like it."

"I've already graduated out of many top colleges." Reborn bragged, "I don't see the big deal."

"Wha-." Tsuna's eye twitched, "For your information, school is just another name for Hell."

A tonfa flew at Tsuna's head, but the brunet ducked caught it and tossed it back in the same direction without even looking. Reborn raised a brow at the fuming Hibari. The teen seemed to be in conflict with himself whether to defend his school or watch.

Tsuna went back to his rant. "People stare at you, refusing to leave you alone. They ask you irritating questions that are simply invasions of privacy. Seriously, who in their right mind asks someone for their blood-type? Are they plotting to keep me around 'just in case'?! And then they're so loud and try to make me join their clubs and what not, like I should be honored to be asked!" Tsuna whined unable to stop now, "They act all friendly And the teachers spew out absolute nonsense!"

Reborn blinked, then blinked again... and again. Processing. It's reasonable that Tsuna's occupation as a thief has made him develop an aversion to people. The blood-type is an odd question for foreigners so that's also understandable. However, he was certain Hibari had down background checks on all the teachers after the fake teacher scandal, so the teachers were more than qualified.

"Um..." Giotto started sensing that they should leave. He and G forced an angry Gokudera through the front door, "We'll just be inside." The front door slammed shut leaving Tsuna, Reborn, and the Alaude-look-a-like who was watching the scene with amusement, all thoughts of attacking Tsuna gone.

"If I remember you said you were home schooled. What exactly were you learning?"

Tsuna blushed, "Important stuff."

Reborn frowned and decided to figure out what Tsuna actually learned, "What's the value of an imaginary number?"

"Imaginary number?" Tsuna blurted out. Reborn could read his expression, which clearly said, '_What's that?'_

"What's the equation for the Pythagorean Thereom?" Reborn continued. It was a very simple one so surely... .

Tsuna's blushed darkened, and looked away. _What did Tsuna even 'teach' himself?_

"Just nod if you recognize any words I say," Reborn decided to make it easier, "Phase change, binomials, Newton's Laws, centripetal force, Marie Curie, polynomials, the Potsdam Conference?"

Tsuna was still looking away, refusing to make eye contact.

Reborn found himself uncharacteristically gaping. He only listed a few standard material, but really, _what did this kid learn?_

"It's not like I need to know that stuff." Tsuna muttered.

"Then what do you know?" Reborn question. Maybe Tsuna was just really behind caught up with his job? But then he'd have to be in the elementary level.

"I know some languages and country customs. Basic math. And a lot about money, business, and law. Particularly court systems, rights, and strategies used in court."

Well, maybe much more knowledgeable than most in those subjects. Still... "Have you even gone to a school before?" Reborn was doubtful from what he knew of Tsuna's past, it was highly possible for him to never even stepped in a school before.

To his surprise, Tsuna nodded, "A few times, but not too long. I only went to er-," his brown eyes shot towards the teen watching, "Meet special requirements." Hoping Reborn would understand the reference to Tsuna's work. And of course, the hit man did.

Reborn almost sighed, he really should've guessed that a child teaching himself wouldn't bother with common school material. He had just assumed that Tsuna knew what other kids his age did. At least the kid did know relevant information for his job. Maybe a bit overboard with the law... on second thought, it wasn't so farfetched considering Reborn himself knew all about the law and politics for his own job. You could never be too prepared if you end up being caught.

He'll have to help the kid keep up with his school work. His normal smirk reappeared. Reborn will surely have a lot of fun 'tutoring' Tsuna.

"Hibari, you came for Tsuna's information, right?" The hit man asked. Hibari grunted, no longer interested in the conversation.

Reborn gestured his head towards the door. "Come on in, we'll go to the guest room and fill the forms."

* * *

"Herbivore, you expect me to believe you don't have a last name?" Hibari growled. They had barely begun the task of filling out the required forms, and already hit a road block on the first question.

Tsuna crossed his arms, "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know it."

Reborn chuckled, "Just put down 'Sawada'; it'll be easier to explain the address." Tsuna looked confusedly at Reborn.

Hibari grunted an filled in the name. "How do you spell you first name?"

Tsuna snapped his attention back to Hibari. "T-s-u-n-a-y-o-s-h-i." Tsuna spelled out.

"Is that your full name?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna shrugged, it really didn't matter, "Yes, but it's a mouthful."

"Why are you named after a Tokugawa Shogun?" (3) Reborn was naturally curious.

"What's a shogun?" He asked. Honestly, he remembered hearing 'Tsunayoshi' before he had a name and deciding to call himself that. If he recalled right it was a sad stranger who he had randomly approached and cheered up that had told him the name and other random stories, but he couldn't remember exactly since he was little.

Reborn shook his head, "Never mind."

"Name of Parent or Guardian."

Tsuna shrugged, "None."

Hibari tapped his finger impatiently, "Herbivore, answer the question."

"I did," Tsuna stated blandly. Hibari pulled out his tonfas.

"Just put down 'Reborn'." Reborn interrupted.

The teen's glare shifted to Reborn, "What makes you think I would make false records, baby?"

Tsuna burst into a fit of coughing that may have been used to cover up his laughter. Did he just call Reborn _baby_?

"He's under my charge for the time being."

"Fine." Hibari ground out tucking his tonfas away. "Fill out the rest, American herbivore." He snapped getting up, "I expect it on my desk in the morning." Hibari opened the window and jumped out.

"Is Hibari-san related to Alaude-san?" Tsuna asked. What was with the window-as-a-door fetish?

"They're brothers." Reborn answered and looked at him questioningly, "American?"

Tsuna scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "I have a lot of insurance."

Reborn just shook his head in disbelief. "Let's just fill out the rest."

* * *

"Reborn?" Tsuna whispered to the man sleeping on the other side of the room.

He didn't answer for a while, "What?"

"How long are we going to be staying here," the brunet asked, "Before we go back to our job?"

"Maybe a couple of weeks," Reborn answered vaguely. Truthfully he didn't know. Nono had informed him that it would take a while as all the information had to be gone through manually in case something was missed. He had also informed him that he would send someone over to inform him and Bambi of the results and what they would need to do next. The Vongola weren't taking any chances with information leaks.

His mind went back to his other mission given to him by Nono. Reborn didn't know why Nono had wholeheartedly trusted Tsuna without even meeting him, but he had no business questioning the Vongola's intuition.

_Determine if Bambi is fit to be recruited into the Vongola._

A different smirk covered Reborn's face before the hit man drifted into slumber. He really liked challenges.

* * *

Byakuran knocked at the address. He was finally off and wanted to come and play with Tanaka-san. After the entire incident they had found out that the Gesso system had crashed, so he was expected to be in charge of the mess. But he didn't want to stay cooped up in that boring office all day.

So that morning Byakuran ran to go have fun. He rarely had any interest in people, but this Tanaka-san was worthy of his attention. He had gotten Shouchi to track down the man, and he had gotten an address.

He was finally going to meet him officially. The man got into his base without his knowledge. The man that not only took one of his guardians out, but held himself well against the others. The man who possessed a Sky flame.

The door opened and revealed the image of Tanaka-san. But something was different.

"Hello." The man greeted.

Byakuran frowned. The voice was rougher. Not only that but only the basic appearance - brown hair and tanned white skin - was the same. The aura too wasn't there.

"Whoops, seems like I made a mistake." Byakuran smiled wickedly. The man shivered.

"I-I see. G-good day then!" the man squeaked and slammed the door.

The marshmallow lover was still standing there with a disturbing smile. So Tanaka-san had lied to him the Gesso boss. Not many would dare. Byakuran's smile turned into his normal carefree one and he walked away from the house.

He'll find the fake Tanaka. The man just became more interesting with the lie.

Something told him he was going to have a lot of fun.

* * *

(1) Menudo is a Mexican dish; I like it, but... many won't eat it after knowing its contents.

(2) Blood type is important in Japanese culture. Not only for medical reasons, but personalities and horoscopes.

(3) For any that don't know, the Sawada's have a tradition to name their children after the Tokugawa Shoguns, who ruled Japan during the Japanese Edo Period.

P.S. If anyone sees any mistakes in my writing let me know please. I do the editing myself, but I still miss my mistakes. So feel free to let me know even for the most basic errors so I can correct them asap.


	8. Tsu-na-yo-shi

**(A/N)** Thanksgiving approached so fast, and then Black Friday. I actually went out to buy something on Black Friday, completely forgetting what day it was. Luckily, it wasn't so bad considering I went out during the evening. I'm grateful I was spared from the (killer) mobs of Black Friday.

For those of you out of the US and Canada(?), pray that Black Friday never invades your country. TT_TT Great deals, but it brings out the worst in people.

* * *

Tsu-na-yo-shi

* * *

_Bang!_

Tsuna's eyes shot open, and he rolled out of bed just in time for the bullet to avoid his head.

Reborn let out a dark chuckle, "Pity, I missed."

Tsuna untangled himself from the blankets, scowling at being awoken in such a cruel manner. "What a wonderful morning," he muttered sarcastically under his breath.

Reborn smirked, "Get ready for school already there will be a surprise there."

Color drained from Tsuna's face, he could already imagine this surprise, and it came in the form of being tied to a cliff while an eagle feed off of his liver.

But Tsuna refused to run as far away from Japan as possible; he would only be delaying the inevitable. With his sudden pessimistic view on life, Tsuna got ready for the day.

Nana gave him and Giotto each a bento. He paused for a second, dread overwhelming him. Tsuna was never one for surprises.

Especially if it comes from a world renowned hit man that makes all other contract killers look like saints.

"Tsuna," Giotto tugged on the brunet's arm happily, "We better get going now."

Tsuna nodded, letting a small smile claim his lips, "Un." The Sawada's were really strange; they accepted him without a second thought.

Giotto pulled him out the front door, before he stopped. Tsuna wondered why until he saw the same kid as yesterday, the one who looked like G.

"Hey, Gokudera-kun," Giotto greeted with his voice lilting with confusion, "Where's G?"

Gokudera grunted and trudged up until he was in front of Tsuna. He was looking at every where besides where the brunet was. "I'm sorry," The teen mumbled around his cigarette. Giotto's eyes widened slightly at Gokudera's words.

Tsuna rubbed the back of his head, "... It's fine, I guess." What is he even apologizing for?

Gokudera made contact with Tsuna's eyes, but quickly looked away. Tsuna couldn't help but think he looked like a child who had been scolded for misbehaving.

"It was completely uncalled for me to treat you like that." He pulled something out of his pocket, causing Tsuna to freeze, but relax a moment later when it was only a small notebook and not a weapon. The book was shoved into his hands turned to an empty page. Tsuna blanched when he thought he saw red on the teens face. The delinquent-looking teen was not blushing; there was no way.

A pen was placed in his open hand. Tsuna couldn't help but give Gokudera a funny look, _Okay?_

"Please sign." He grunted, deliberately looking away.

"Uh..." Tsuna forced his mouth to move, "Why?"

Gokudera meet his eyes again, but his eyes were shining with wonder. The look vanished when he ducked his head, and pointed to the bottom of the page. Tsuna struggled to read the writing, which was neat along with incredibly tiny.

_Reserved for Bambi's signature._ He felt a bit dizzy at the absurdity of the simple sentence.

Tsuna felt a bright blush appear on his face. "What-? But-?" The world started spinning, and he let out a final shriek, "Eh?!"

All he could remember in his embarrassment, were Giotto's and Gokudera's concerned faces before he blacked out.

The blood rushing to his head was too much for him to handle.

* * *

_He was running. He couldn't remember why, but he knew that he needed to keep on running. That was when he started to recognize the streets of Venice._

_How could he have forgotten?_

_He clutched the wallet closer to his chest as his small feet collided in a frantic rhythm with the ground._

_That's right I just stole some man's wallet. I could only now feel my empty stomach. The shouts from an angry owner soon faded after several minutes of nonstop running throughout the winding streets._

_The child slowed, sensing the danger had passed. He looked around just in case someone recognized him. He wasn't infamous or anything, but he has stolen from a lot of people in this city._

_The brunet opened the wallet and grinned: jackpot._

_Smiling he skipped to the nearest food vendor and bought a a few strips of jerky. The child sat on the curb and nibbled on the meat._

_After a few minutes the child finished two strips and tucked the rest in his pocket._

_He continued walking down the street, balancing on the curb._

"_Waah!"_

_The child looked up to find the source of the loud sobbing. Residents and tourists alike were avoiding the man crying like he had the plague._

_The small child continued down his path until he could no longer go forward; the strange man was blocking his path._

_He looked at the man. He had short blonde hair and big muscles. The child continued to stare, and the man continued to cry._

"_What 'cha crying for?" He asked confused._

_The man looked up, still crying. "I don't know what your talkin- Wah~!" He burst out crying dramatically again._

"_Let's go,", "Weirdo,", and "Now honey don't stare," were whispered by the surrounding crowd._

_The child straightened his back and pointed at the man, "You're a big boy mister, and big boys don't cry!" He smiled proudly, "Im'a big boy, ya' know!"_

_The man gave sniffed some more, and a look a strain came onto his face as he was trying not to cry. The boy grinned and sat next to the man. He swung his legs childishly onto the street. "So what 'cha crying for mister? You never answered." He asked._

_The man looked up with watery eyes, and whimpered, "My wife."_

_The kid's eyes widened and he nodded in understanding, "I know what you mean."_

_The man tilted his head, "Huh?"_

"_'Wives are only a pain in the ass.'" The brunet provided with wisdom. The of the man who sleeps in the rickety boat told him that._

_The man's mouth fell open. The child stared at the man, waiting for the sound of agreement. All the other men he knew always laughed and chided about it being the truth._

"_Hey, Mister?" He asked. Maybe the man was broken?_

_The man abruptly shut his mouth, and grabbed the child's shoulders. The kid's eyes widened in panic. He didn't expect to be caught so easily, and this man was too big for him get away._

"_That's a bad word, you should never say." He said feverishly._

"_Eh?" The child let out, unsure of what was wrong, "Bad word?"_

_The man nodded and his eyes turned sparkly, "Yes! My precious Nana would never be like that." He exclaimed happily, "She's an angel sent to me from heaven!"_

_The child nodded pretending to understand. He figured something in his sentence was somehow bad._

"_She is so beautiful, and kind! She's perfect!" More sparkles surrounded the man, "But..." A gloomy cloud formed over his head. The child whistled in wonder when the imaginary cloud started raining. A paper was pulled out, and the man's personal rain cloud thundered._

"_What's that?" He asked, his own eyes beginning to sparkle completely ignoring the man's mood. He had heard about something called maps that were own those paper, which led straight to treasure the other day. The child leaned in and looked at the paper only to be disappointed. He pouted. Only lines and weird symbols filled the paper._

"_This, my dear child," The man's mood went back up, "Are my family's names." The man scooted eagerly next to the child broadcasting the paper, "We have a tradition of naming our child after the famous Japanese Tokugawa Shoguns!"_

_The child blinked, the information went right over his head, "Oh." He didn't understand a word._

_The man grinned, "I had found the perfect name for my own child and Nana loved it too! However, our son," He sniffled again. "Wah~! Our son hates it now!"_

_The child patted the man's back in pity. The child wrinkled his nose when snot was coming out the man's nose. "I'm sure he's, um" He thought hard for the words he would hear often, "Just 'going through a phase,' Mister. I'm sure they're pretty names."_

_The man brightened, "Of course, they are great names! Like Yoshimune, Ietsuna, and Tsunayoshi! 'Yasu-kun will surely appreciate its greatness when he's older."_

_The child beamed at what he thought were cool sounding names, "Yoshamoney, Echuna, and Tunagachi?"_

_The man laughed, "Repeat after me, 'Yo-shi-mu-ne'."_

"_Yo-shi-mu-ne." The child enunciated slowly; his tongue feeling strange with each unfamiliar syllable. The names were really weird._

"_Good now, 'I-e-tsu-na'." He said slowly, sounding out each syllable._

_The child formed his lips carefully around each sound,"I-e-zu su-" his face went blank, "Ah, I forgot."_

"_Haha, I-e-tsu-na," He repeated, slower this time._

"_I-e-ts- ah, em, -tsu-na." The brunet squealed in delight, "I did it!"_

_The man smiled, "Now try, Tsu-na-yo-shi."_

_The child nodded and set back to work. "Tsu-na... yo-shi." The name rolled off his tongue. A warm feeling filled him when he said the name, so he repeated it, "Tsu... Tsuna-yoshi!" He burst out giggling; It was the coolest sounding name, he concluded._

_The man laughed again, "Thanks for cheering me up kid! Your mother must have raised you well."_

_The child fell silent; his head ducked._

_The man's eyes widen, "Oh, kid. I didn't know."_

_The child shook his head, "It's fine, I've never had one anyways."_

"_What?" The man questioned, then his eyes filled with pity, "I see, I'm sorry."_

_The child continued to frown and tap his feet softly on the stone street. The man didn't like the smiling child's frown, so he changed the subject, "So what's the name of a cute lad like yourself?"_

_The brunet looked up, "Name?"_

"_Yeah," The man chuckled nervously at the question, "Like mine's Iemitsu's."_

_The boy looked at the ground, and stuck out his tongue in concentration. He looked up, his big eyes shining with glee, "How 'bout Tsuna... Tsunayoshi, Mister?" Then he looked away unsure, "You wouldn't mind, right?"_

_The man gave a sad understanding smile. "No, I don't mind," He ruffled the boy's hair, "Tsunayoshi."_

_The boy continued grinning, and his phone rang. Iemitsu immediately answered, "Hello... . Yes, I-... oh. I'll be there, Nono." He stood up._

_Tsunayoshi looked up, "Mister?"_

_Iemitsu patted the boy's head once again, "I have to go now... Tsunayoshi. It was nice meeting you."_

_Tsunayoshi's eyes widened, and pink tinted his cheeks. He pushed the man's hands off his head and tugged at his suit. "Un," he nodded happily, and the man walked off._

_His blissful smile turned guilty when he pulled out a watch and a hand gun from his vest, "I feel bad for stealing the mister's stuff now." He shrugged dismissing his own guilt and put the items back._

_And with that, the six-year-old pickpocket went back to walking merrily down the curb._

_It's not his fault the mister didn't notice._

* * *

"-na... Tsuna..." A voice penetrated the darkness.

The brunet's eyes fluttered and blinked, getting used to the sudden light. He sat up, ignoring the burning of his sides. As a passing thought, he vaguely noted that he had forgotten his medication.

A sigh of relief came from next to him. Tsuna reached into his pocket and pulled out the two bottles. He popped a pill each into his mouth, ignoring the other presences in the room.

He started stretching his stiff limbs, and let out a yawn. _Such a weird dream walking on a curb and watches... I think...? Never mind,_ he thought pushing away the fading dream, _it really doesn't matter._

"Tsuna!" The same voice exclaimed, and their arms were thrown around him. Tsuna was about to knock the risk out when he recognized the mass of blonde hair.

"What are you doing here Giotto-san?" He wondered, and silently asked himself and where is here? His brown eyes surveyed the semi-familiar surrounding, only to conclude that it resembled that of the school. And in the nurse's office no less.

"You fainted Tsuna," Giotto snuggled deeper into his stomach, "We were worried."

We? Tsuna glanced around the room and saw Gokudera sticking his head in the doorway. He couldn't help it, he sweatdropped, "Gokudera-san... ."

The silver-haired teen came out from his 'hiding place' and tackled both Tsuna and Giotto.

"Ack!" Tsuna really wasn't sure who let out the shout as the three of them tumbled to the ground. Him... Giotto... maybe both.

"I'm so sorry Bambi-sama!" Gokudera shouted, "I should've known that you didn't want to sign!"

_Sign? Oh_, a light blush spread over his cheeks, right. "I was just really surprised was all."

The teen looked up at him, eyes watering, "Really?"

Tsuna nodded. Now that he thought about it, how did Gokudera figure out he was Bambi? Two options came into his head: Reborn or G.

He eliminated Reborn, simply because revenge against him would only backfire. An evil smile played on his face, unknown to the two clinging to him. G would regret spilling Tsuna's identity. Even if it was Reborn in the end, Tsuna figured this next week he would need a form of stress release, and G just provided him with one.

Somewhere in his school, G shivered.

Giotto jumped up, "Crap!" He scrambled to the other side of the room and grabbed his bag, "I'm extremely late!"

Tsuna watched with amused eyes as his fake cousin sprinted out the door. He felt lighter all of the sudden, and realized that Gokudera had gotten up.

He was about to get up himself when the same notebook and pen were shoved in his face by a blushing Gokudera.

He pushed down his blush this time, and grabbed the objects. The pen hovered over the page and hesitated before Tsuna decided to get it over with. The silence was awkward when Tsuna handed the materials back, but with an elegant cursive signature of 'Bambi'.

Tsuna got up and scratched his cheek. He only signed it because of those eyes. He knew he could manipulate some people – mostly woman – with just his eyes, but Gokudera had the kicked puppy look down.

He gave Gokudera an awkward smile, "I guess we should go to class too."

Gokudera nodded in reply, looking with sparkly eyes at his new addition to his signature book.

* * *

Tsuna gulped. This surprise was far worse than reenacting Prometheus' punishment.*

"I am Reboyama," their new teacher introduced himself, "Nice to meet you all."

Reborn was his new teacher.

A few girls squealed, and the guys shot the teacher envious looks.

This was already worse, his classmates' simple mindedness couldn't catch onto that this man was the devil incarnate.

Reborn started placing stacks of paper on the first desk of each row. "Pass those back." He ordered and the students complied until everyone had a packet. "As your new math teacher, I would like to see what level all my students are at." Reborn sat lazily behind his desk, "Begin."

The class complied once again, but Tsuna grimaced at the packet. The random symbols and weird words seemed to mock him from the page.

He picked up his pencil shakily, and looked around. Gokudera was rapidly filing out his papers. Yamamoto looked like he was struggling, but still managing. His eyes looked back at his own paper. Tsuna wasn't proud to admit that he couldn't understand what he saw.

Tsuna's eyes swept back across the room, before widening when he realized something; he could cheat. Cheating was, in an aspect, simply stealing answers. His brown eyes focused on a girl by the window. It just so happened that the window was tilted opened. The surface was reflecting a vague transparent image of her desk and the floor.

He narrowed his eyes, even though he had great eye sight the image was far and near intangible. Near.

He copied the letters and numbers slowly as she filled it out:

_Change the standard form of the quadratic equation x^2 – 8x + 7 into general form.*_

_x^2 – 8x + 7_

_-8/2 = (-4)^2 = 16_

_(x^2 – 8x + 16) – 16 + 7_

_(x – 4)^2 – 9_

He had absolutely no clue what the gibberish meant, so he was putting his faith in this girl to know. She moved onto the second question, and Tsuna was about to follow suit when his body tensed up. He felt those eyes on him, and he nervously stared back at Reborn.

The man's eyes were communicating a look that were almost daring Tsuna to continue to cheat.

Bad idea, Tsuna thought darting his eyes back to his paper. He hadn't even considered that Reborn would notice, but now he couldn't believe that he had completely disregarded the man's skills.

Hit men obviously had to be acutely aware of their surroundings, and that included any suspicious behavior of those surrounding.

Yes, he could still cheat in hopes that Reborn wouldn't do anything, but would he cheat now? No... knowing Reborn he'd do something that wouldn't do the brunet any favors.

That only left one option: trial and error.

He knew how to add, subtract, divide, and multiply, but that didn't matter considering there wasn't a single equation or set of numbers without some letter or weird sign that popped up.

He tried, really, but there were some answers that he may have randomly coined together.

Tsuna wiped his sweaty hands on his slacks and flipped to the last section. His shoulders relaxed, Algebra wasn't so bad after all.

These word equations seemed to mimic real life. They centered around money and probability. Tsuna happily wrote down the answers in the space provided.

He walked to the Reborn's desk – ignoring the man's stare – and placed his packet on top of the others before walking back to his desk.

Reborn's hands seemed to be twitching towards the pile, almost unable to wait. Tsuna laid his head down on his desk as some of the last students turned their own papers in.

He would be able to survive the other lessons by finding ways to cheat without suspicion; the other teachers won't be able to notice objects strategically positioned in the classroom or other methods, like Reborn would.

Quizzes and tests were covered then. Homework? He could force G to do his as payment for not keeping his mouth shut.

The bell rang, indicating the end of the lesson.

* * *

The sound of scribbling echoed on the roof.

It was lunch time so Tsuna searched for a good place to eat without being bothered. He had settled for the roof, because students weren't allowed up there.

But his fan – he still can't wrap his mind around that – followed him. More like stalked, but whatever.

He resisted the urge to acknowledge the silver-haired teen watching him and ate his lunch.

Gokudera Hayato was currently observing him, writing away in his personal notebook like Tsuna was some type of phenomenon.

The mutterings of 'specimen' and 'UMA' were a bit unnerving really.

In short, Tsuna felt like he was suddenly put in a petri dish and thrust under a microscope. He desperately tried to not yell at Gokudera that he was not some kind of bacteria to be observed; it was difficult to say the least.

The brunet chewed slowly on the rice ball Nana had made. Nana- er Mama, had officially achieved saint status in his books. He had no idea how someone could accept all the strangeness that came into their lives without so much as a question like Nana. She may be the definition of total bliss and obliviousness.

Sawada Giotto was another mystery, the high schooler also accepted him wholeheartedly as if he and Tsuna were really cousins.

Tsuna smiled contentedly when he took another bite of his lunch. "Ah, I see." Mumbled Gokudera and continued to write in his notes. The brunet twitched.

This needed to stop. How was he supposed to enjoy Nana's delicious food in peace if he was being observed 24/7? He sighed and placed his chop sticks down. "Gokudera-san?" He asked.

Gokudera ceased scribbly frantically, "Yes, Bambi-sama?"

Tsuna groaned irritably, "Enough with that Gokudera-san; call me Tsuna."

"I can't." The teen stated almost robotically.

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, but didn't question. Who knows, maybe Gokudera was the first successful attempt at a living robot. "Please," he insisted further. Tsuna would really rather not have the wrong people overhear Gokudera calling him Bambi. Identity isn't something fickle for thieves like most. As an afterthought he quickly added, "And could you please stop recording my behavioral patterns?"

Gokudera's face twisted in embarrassment. "Wha- I wasn't!" He denied.

Tsuna stared pointedly at him, he may not have seen what Gokudera was writing – or really wanted to for that matter – but it wasn't too difficult to guess.

Gokudera looked down, slightly moping, "Okay."

Tsuna smiled in satisfaction and was about to go back to his food when Gokudera's stomach grumbled. The teen started blushing. Tsuna put down his chopsticks, biting his lip. He knew what he should do, but it was challenging to go through with his decision. He decided to suck it up, and do it before he regretted it.

"Here," Tsuna extended his bento towards Gokudera, "Have it."

Gokudera's cheeks became tinged with red. "I couldn't." He declined pushing away the bento. The teens stomach grumbled again.

Tsuna frowned, he wasn't going back on his offer. He re-extended his lunch and declared, "I never said it was optional." He wasn't leaving any room for an argument. Being hungry was a feeling that he absolutely despised.

The silver-haired boy's mouth dropped at his words. The teen's stomach grumbled again, and Gokudera finally muttered, "Thank you." Gokudera finally accepted the bento.

Tsuna laid down as he watched the odd teen devour the food. He wouldn't have given it up if not for the fact that he gets to eat Nana's cooking later.

His large eyes closed and a gentle breeze swept through his hair. Gokudera was still eating, exclaiming around mouthfuls at how delicious the food was.

It really was nice to simply relax and take things day by day.

* * *

Once the break was over, Tsuna and Gokudera walked back to their class. Gokudera was no longer acting shy, and was switching from bouts of excitement to silence, where he seemed to be thinking intently.

The English teacher entered and begun class. He was already proficient in English, and the teacher's voice was so easy to tune out.

Tsuna started examining the room closer, devising ways to pass his other courses. The window was already an option, but that would require it to be open... .

His mind shifted through cheating methods even after the class was over, and the last teacher entered. He hadn't realized how long he had been planning until the bell signaled the end of the day.

Tsuna picked up his bag and packed away his school supplies.

Gokudera came up to his desk and bowed, "Bambi-sama! I'm sorry, but I won't be able to escort you home today, because I have to restock my dynamite." The teen bowed again and left quickly.

Tsuna blinked, take me home? But we only just met... . Did he just say dynamite? Tsuna shook his head gently and chuckled, "Why am I not surprised anymore."

He strolled out of the classroom and out the gate. He paused when he saw a familiar blonde running towards him.

"Tsuna!" Giotto yelled happily and tackled the brunet. Tsuna was caught off guard, expecting Giotto to stop, but he was able to stand his ground when the blonde threw himself at him.

The blonde hung onto Tsuna for a few seconds before releasing his grip. He looked at Tsuna smiling, "I've come to pick you up."

Tsuna felt his lips start twitching into an amused smile, "Thank you."

They started walking. Since Reborn had mentioned to Giotto that Tsuna would be posing as his cousin, Giotto was ecstatic.

"How was your day?" Giotto asked, calming from his hype.

Tsuna scratched the back of his head, recounting what had happened. "Better than I thought, except..." Tsuna started to turn green, "Reborn."

Giotto looked at him confused, "Reborn?"

Tsuna covered his face, "He's my new teacher."

The blonde's eyes widened, "I see." Giotto patted Tsuna's shoulder. "At least he's not your tutor." Giotto whimpered pathetically.

Tsuna gave Giotto a sympathetic look. It was a bit comforting to know that there was a level worse than 'teacher status' for Reborn. Having that man as a tutor, where Reborn could actively cause bodily harm without witnesses... .

Giotto must be traumatized.

The two continued walking, but with Tsuna comforting Giotto from his Rebophobia.* Tsuna opened the door to the Sawada residence.

A big red 9% was waved in his face, along with a smirking hit man. "Honestly," Reborn said in mock disappointment, "This is plain pitiful."

Tsuna's face turned red and he jumped to grab the packet. Reborn held it up higher, and held Tsuna down with his other hand.

* * *

Giotto's jaw went slack.

At first, he was confused about the random paper, but then he remembered about Reborn being Tsuna's teacher now. Nine percent? He never knew anyone who scored that lower than Takeshi.

Tsuna's face became red, and he started trying to grab his test back from Reborn.

That was what made him so surprised. The way Reborn was acting was almost like he was teasing Tsuna. It was normal. Not Reborn's I'm-so-much-better-than-you teasing, but typical _teasing_. Which is impossible, because Reborn's actually the devil's advisor.

What happened next made Giotto 100% certain that this was the result of an overactive imagination. Reborn _laughed_.

No sinister chuckles. A simple fun-loving laugh; that wasn't so simple at all since this is Reborn he was talking about.

That image was all that it took for Giotto to collapse from shock with white foam coming from his mouth.

He really hoped that this was all a really his brain's twisted version of a joke.

* * *

Reborn and Tsuna froze when they heard a loud thunk. Reborn watched as Tsuna entirely forgot about his previous humiliation and started trying to wake up Giotto.

Reborn himself didn't bother with the idiot, and grabbed Tsuna by the collar shutting the door behind them.

Giotto was left outside. He'll tell Nana later if he can remember.

He tossed Tsuna and his test on the couch.

"Ouch," Tsuna grumbled.

Reborn collapsed next to Tsuna on the couch, he still had his ever-familiar smirk. "I can always help you with school."

Tsuna stiffened next to him. The small brunet spoke slowly, "I would rather not."

Reborn's smirk widened. I guess I'll have to do that.

The raven grabbed Leon, and as always, his pet sensed what his master wanted and turned into green cellphone. Tsuna looked bewildered at his actions, but the only response he got was the sound of a shutter.

Reborn attached the photo file to a text with Bambi typed out. He selected 'all contacts', but didn't press the button to confirm its sending.

The boy's brown eyes blinked, then blinked again before widening in realization. "You took a picture?!" He shouted springing up.

Before Tsuna could do anything hasty, Reborn showed Tsuna his finger was already on the send button. "I'm sorry," Reborn said innocently, "I didn't quite catch that."

Tsuna's jaw was clenched angrily. The expression alone was enough for Reborn to know he won.

"Fine." The brunet ground out, "Now erase it."

Reborn didn't bother to hide his victorious smirk. He let Tsuna watch as he deleted the message as well as the photo.

He got up and clapped his hands, "Now, down to business."

The neighbors didn't sleep that night; the explosions and shrieks were too loud.

Unlike them, Giotto slept right through it. On the doormat.

* * *

*Prometheus is from Greek mythology. The story is basically he stole fire and give it to man, but the god Zeus was angry and decided to punish him. He was chained to a mountain and an eagle fed on his liver every day. I alluded to this prior the flashback scene too. The Greeks were awfully creative, right?

*I know I didn't have to put the math equation in there, but I felt compelled to give an actual problem. No idea why. I wonder how many people actually understood it. If you did congratulations! :P

* Rebophobia: A fear (that I didn't just make up on the spot) of the hit man, Reborn.


	9. Beware the Bambi Eyes

(A/N) I just realized I'm not constant with my chapter lengths. I've become lazy with replying to every single review I've gotten (I'm in shock that I've done 100+ replies), so I won't be replying to regular reviews to this story anymore. Sorry, laziness overrode. I'll reply to reviews that ask me questions (except spoilers of course). Also, I gave a treat to 1827 fans.

Warning: Sadist Tsuna equals pure evil. ;_;

* * *

_Beware the Bambi Eyes_

* * *

"Good morning, Bambi-sama!" The zealous fan exclaimed.

Tsuna yawned, "Good morning, Gokudera-san." Gokudera's eyes filled with happiness at his words. Tsuna rubbed his eyes and added, "And please just call me 'Tsuna'."

Whether Gokudera choose to ignore his request or didn't hear, all Tsuna knew is that his request wasn't answered.

"Haha, hi Tsuna!" A familiar voice laughed. Tsuna recognized Yamamoto despite his brain threatening to shut down any moment.

His eyelids drooped, "Ah, hey."

Yamamoto laughed again and slung his arm over Tsuna's shoulder. Gokudera started yelling incoherently at the baseball player. "You sure are interesting, Tsuna," Yamamoto stated.

Tsuna tried his best to keep up with the pace, so he wouldn't be late to school. God he was tired.

"Let's be friends."

Tsuna rubbed his ears, thinking he misheard. "Huh?"

Yamamoto grinned, "You must be awesome since you hang out with Gokudera and Reborn!"

_It's more involuntary actually, but,_ a small smile formed on his lips. Tsuna looked up at Yamamoto, "Un!"

"Just call me Yamamoto, then!" Yamamoto chirped happily.

The brunet gave a small nod.

Gokudera ran in front of the two, sending a quick glare at Yamamoto before bowing to Tsuna, "Bambi-sama, please call me Gokudera-kun then!"

"Sure," Tsuna said feeling warm from happiness, "Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera looked like he was about to faint from excitement.

He wasn't sure what he thought of Reborn, but Gokudera and Yamamoto... they were nice. He felt light, _is this how it feels to have friends?_ His smile became softer, _it feels good_.

They walked the rest of the way to school with Gokudera's one-sided argument with Yamamoto.

The school day went by fast. Tsuna was grateful for his skill in being discrete; he had been able to sneak a copy of all his teachers' (except Reborn's) week's lesson plans under the cover of going to the bathroom. When Reborn's class came, it wasn't as easy as the first day.

"Osamu-san," Reborn called upon the shaking boy, and tapped with a chalk piece on the board where a long equation was written. "Answer."

"Forty-two?" The chalk collided with the boy's head right when the wrong answer came out.

"Wrong." Reborn said. Osamu's body collapsed onto the ground with the six others before. Tsuna felt really bad for them, but was really glad that Reborn was randomly picking names instead of only torturing him.

At least the students only had to spend an hour with the sadist, Tsuna had the hit man with him almost twenty-four seven*.

"Sawada-san," Reborn called, "Answer."

Tsuna paled, the world really loved dumping the devil on him. He looked at the equation, not recognizing the strange symbols from any of their lessons.

If there was anything Tsuna was excellent at, it was probability. And as of now, he had a one in an infinity chance of getting the answer right. So he went with the an answer that couldn't possibly be right, "One."

Reborn didn't respond right away almost as if-.

"Wrong."

A white blur was aimed directly between his eyes. Tsuna ducked out of the way of the projectile. He felt the chalk brush across the top of his hair, but the deadly item missed.

A loud thunk was heard when the student behind Tsuna fell to the ground. The remaining conscious class gaped at Tsuna, and he laughed nervously.

Reborn didn't acknowledge the dodge, and kept on going down his list.

"Gokudera-san," The evil man called.

Gokudera was slumped lazily in his desk, and rolled his eyes. "9.8 meters per second squared."

Tsuna cringed, ready for the killer chalk to come flying, but it never did.

"Correct," Reborn said smirking, "Class is dismissed."

The lunch bell rang right after Reborn said that. The remaining class bolted out the door in desperation. And really, who could blame them?

* * *

Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto were on the roof. Tsuna had brought an extra bento for Gokudera along with his. The silver-haired teen was devoured the food Nana had generously made.

"How come you forgot your bento again?" Tsuna asked out of curiousity.

"My older sister would poison it everyday, so I stopped making it." Gokudera shoveled some more food in his mouth, "And my older brother throws out the only thing left untouched by Bianchi is her Ghirardelli chocolate."

Tsuna raised a brow, "Why would G-san do that?"

Gokudera snorted, "He hates sweets with a passion."

"Haha, I remember the when we got him a cake for his birthday," Yamamoto laughed, "He got sick just from looking at it."

Tsuna smirked and filed the information for later. He took a chewed on some of the pickled vegetables in his lunch.

Tsuna was about to shovel some rice into his mouth when he heard the sound of a whizzing projectile. The two others noticed it two, and jumped back unaware that it wasn't aimed at them. Tsuna leaned back at the last moment, his chopsticks still poised in the same position, and the metallic object collided with the wall to his left.

"Herbivores," Hibari growled appearing from a high section of the roof. Tsuna leaned back forward and ate the rice greedily. There really should be a limit for Nana's talent, she could even make seemingly normal food taste heavenly.

Hibari's aura darkened when he realized the new student evaded his weapon and was ignoring him. The prefect grinned with ferally, taking out his other tonfa, "I will bite you to death."

Tsuna looked up at the strange phrase, _Hibari-san seems to be just as blood thirsty as Alaude-san._ Yamamoto started laughing nervously, while Gokudera was gaping like a fish at Tsuna.

"For comparing me to that blonde," Hibari jumped down from his spot, "I will bite you twice as hard." Tsuna widened his eyes realizing his mistake,_ I spoke aloud again, damn._ Hibari charged his tonfa aiming for Tsuna's abdomen. The brunet internally groaned, I have to go through this again.

Tsuna side stepped the blow, and jumped when the hit was redirected as a swipe in his new position. Hibari growled, and quickly swept up his missing tonfa that he had previously thrown. He attacked once more.

"Do we-," Tsuna ducked a blow. "Really-," Hibari struck the ground where Tsuna was. "Have to do this?" Tsuna ducked another hit aimed for his head, but ran forward this time. Hibari was shocked by the unexpected maneuver. Tsuna was going to spin behind Hibari and strike the back of his neck, but instead thought better since Hibari seemed more beast-like than Alaude. The brunet opted to tackle the boy, and Hibari was in a state of shock from being caught off guard.

Tsuna glanced frantically around, knowing Hibari would go back into beast-mode any second unless-. His eyes landed on his bento, which happened to be right next to Hibari's head. Hibari's face morphed into anger, but before the teen could throw Tsuna shoved a slice of tuna in his mouth.

Please work, please work! Hibari sat up abruptly, causing Tsuna to fall off of him. Tsuna squeeked when Hibari reached towards him only to grab the chopsticks he held in his hands still. The raven huffed and grabbed Tsuna's bento from the ground. He walked away from their group, and climbed back onto his perch.

It worked better than expected. Tsuna's eyes glinted mischievously. It seems Nana's food really was heavenly if it could tame a beast.

Tsuna looked at his friends – the word fills him glee every time. He blinked at the sight before him.

Gokudera was writhing on the ground with foam coming out of his mouth. Yamamoto didn't seem to be doing any better.

The jock's head was tilted, eyes were blank, and mouth was open in an odd smile. He looked like he was broken.

Tsuna was about to bring his friends – he really loved that word – back to reality, but the bell did that for him.

They went back to class, Tsuna not understanding his friends dramatic reactions to his fight with Hibari.

Hibari himself, didn't know nor care for the two herbivores' unsightly faces. His mind was focused on two thoughts: 'Sawada' Tsunayoshi was intriguing… and the food was delicious.

The only two that realized the thief and prefect inadvertently shared Tsuna's chopstick were currently out of commission.

When Tsuna left for home once school was out, Gokudera and Yamamoto agreed that they would never mention what they saw to anyone. It probably would scar them for the rest of their lives, and the two would be bitten to death for undermining Hibari's authority or something like that.

* * *

Tsuna's hopes of getting G to do his homework were shattered thanks to Reborn, yet the brunet smiled.

Usually Reborn would ignore something as insignificant as a stupid smile, but he couldn't brush an all to familiar plotting smile off.

The two were currently in their shared room. Reborn was itching to start his tutoring, but he could already tell that patience would reward him with a greater prize.

"I said 'I won't allow G to do your homework.'" Reborn repeated.

Tsuna's wicked grin stayed.

"No, I heard you," Tsuna said with his tone lilting towards devilish.

Reborn dipped his fedora to hide his eyes when a shiver of excitement traveled down his spine. He was a sadist, and he had an uncanny ability to detect another's plotting.

He brushed his finger reassuringly against Leon when he felt the chameleon cowering in the back of his hat.

Reborn himself was near immune to the display of what seemed like out of character behavior.

Tsuna grin dipped into a cunning smirk, "I just remembered something Gokudera-kun told me!"

Reborn smirked, realizing what Tsuna must be referring to; he had great deduction abilities after all.

Tsuna stood up and dusted off non-existent particles, "I just remembered I have to do something Reborn."

Reborn couldn't help but feel excitement for the upcoming show.

* * *

Tsuna was grinning manically, he should thank Gokudera later for the little tidbit about G later. He knocked on the G's door; Reborn had so told him where.

The door opened, and Tsuna switched to innocent mode instantly.

"Hello?" G looked out, and saw Tsuna. The teen started sweating, remembering the other's anger when he found out G had slipped, "Oh, B-bambi."

The brunet tilted his head head, beaming, "Hi, G-san! I was going to go try some of the food here and wanted to know if you would like to come?"

G's fear subsided, and Tsuna could read the teens thoughts by his facial expression. Thank god, it seems as if Bambi doesn't hold grudges.

"Sure," G replied. Tsuna's smile widened and grabbed G's arm, but inside he was smirking.

"Let's go!" Tsuna shouted gleefully. G's eyes nearly popped out when the brunet started running with him dragging behind.

Tsuna felt pleased with himself every time he heard G yelp or scream in pain when he had 'accidentally' forced him into a pole or wall.

Red eyes gazed at the shop Tsuna had drug him to: Alice's Cakes and Pastries. His stomach started to hurt.

"B-bambi, how about a-another shop?" G clutched his stomach painfully. He looked up waiting for Tsuna's reply.

Mistake.

The boy's innocent eyes had grown wider. Tears started to pool on the bottom, threatening to spill. To make matters worse was his trembling lips. No! He must resist! Oh god, was that a sniffle?!

No! He must resist!

Panic rose inside of him, "I mean," he said quickly, "Why are we still out here? Let's go in already!"

Tsuna's tears disappeared and a beaming smile replaced them. The small boy grabbed onto G's arm and pulled him all too happily into the store.

Before he knew it, the smell of sweets filled his nose. G gripped his stomach tighter, already feeling the need to barf at the sickening smell.

Tsuna pulled him to the counter.

"Welcome," the cashier greeted, "What would you like?"

Tsuna pursed his lips in thought. "What's the sweetest?" He asked. G felt his stomach acid claw at his sides in agony at even the suggestion.

"The double chocolate fudge cake." The man said happily.

Tsuna pulled out a wallet, "Two slices of those then, please!"

The man took out two from the glass container. "That will be fourteen dollars."

Tsuna gave him the money and grabbed the two treats while managing to pull a possibly comatose G to a table.

The brunet grabbed his fork and was about to take a bite when he stopped. "G-san, why don't you try it?" Tsuna asked cutely.

G gulped, how could he saw no? The thought of seeing Tsuna in near tears again…. He'd have to suck it up for now.

His hand shook as he grabbed onto his own fork and scooped up a piece of the cake. He made sure not to breath in when shoving the piece into his mouth. He didn't really need to chew as the icing melted in his mouth and swallowed trying to push forget the taste. The monstrosity traveled down his throat too slowly. A shudder racked his body when his stomach tried desperately to reject the monstrosity.

Tsuna's eyes brightened, "Do you like it?" G averted his eyes, but still nodded in conformation.

Tsuna started eating his happily. Every now and then he would look up and say something that would make G take another bite.

G's hand shook violently. _Just... one... more... bite!_ He shut his eyes, and forced the last bit of chocolate cake down his throat. That was it for him.

His stomach couldn't take the poison anymore. His face started to turn green when he felt his body finally rejecting the sweets.

G clamped his hands over his mouth and ran to the bathroom to empty out the contents of his stomach.

He couldn't hear Tsuna's evil snickering from there.

* * *

When he had exited the bathroom, G felt refreshed after getting rid of that toxin out of his body. He didn't expect Tsuna to be smiling blissfully and grab him once again.

He let out a yelp when he was slammed into the doorframe, but had no time to recover since Tsuna just kept tugging him.

He noticed they weren't heading towards the direction back to his house or Giotto's. Rather he found himself in front of a small crêperie*.

He was going to day without even graduating high school._ I should've wrote my will once Reborn first visited here. I should've known his appearance was a sign that I was going to die as a young tortured soul._

Tsuna left him on a bench and went to buy the crepes.

_My dear sister, I hope you learn to cook one day._

_My dear little brother, I can only wish that you won't die from her cooking._

_Giotto, my best friend, I hope that your life won't end as painfully as mine will._

_Reborn... don't kill Giotto._

G finished his mental will, hoping that it would somehow be telepathically conveyed. At that moment, Tsuna came back with their crêpes.

He probably could've handled the light treat, but this one was filled with strawberry sauce and cream. _I'm really going to die._

He didn't want to die so young, and would usually give into his instincts of self-preservation, but that smile. Tsuna's sweet smile made it impossible to deny the kid.

He ate the sweet, ran to the bathroom, and emptied out the contents in his stomach.

This cycle recurred until the sun set and Tsuna dumped him in front of his door. With a groan, G managed to drag himself to the bathroom and curl into a ball.

It was only then that he realized the missing weight in his pocket; his wallet was gone.

His eyes twitched.

The entire block heard a yell.

"DAMN YOU BAMBI!"

* * *

Tsuna chuckled when he saw Reborn waving a video camera victoriously.

The acting and sweet overload were totally worth it.

In the meantime, he and Reborn had some blackmail to entertain them.

* * *

**(A/N)** ...I'm sorry G.

* For my non-American viewers, twenty-four seven is a phrase meaning "24 hours a day, 7 days a week"; really a fancy way of saying always.

* A crêperie is a small restaurant or a street food stall that serve crêpes.


	10. Two Days, Two Birthdays

**(A/N)** Merry Christmas! My Christmas hasn't been the best considering my dad fell and ended up head butting me. Luckily I saved our dog from being crushed under, but I ended up with a bloody nose. It didn't help though that everyone was laughing rather than being concerned that I might have broke my nose (which I didn't thankfully). My family will be the end of me.

* * *

_Two Days, Two Birthdays_

* * *

Finally, it was the weekend.

Tsuna prodded his ribs with his fingers. He grinned, those pills really worked, even the injuries he received from Reborn's "tutoring" the past week were gone.

School was simple, none of the teachers called on him yet and cheating was pretty simple since he had just memorized all the answers for the tests, quizzes, and homework. Really, thank god that these Japanese teachers kept such detailed plans or else he'd be screwed.

Reborn's class wasn't as simple since he still hadn't caught up much to Reborn's ire. But really, did Reborn seriously believe he would learn everything he needed for middle school in a week? There was only so much one can cram into their head and still comprehend it.

But rewind to the first sentence again: finally, it was the weekend.

So he had believed that he would finally be given a break from the mini heart attacks he had been constantly experiencing these past days.

Apparently, no.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBORN!" Excited screams rang out once he entered the house, and confetti was shot at Tsuna.

The brunet let out a shriek and stumbled back in shock. The heel of his foot caught the door ledge and Tsuna fell onto his butt. Someone snorted, but Tsuna was to busy trying to quell his racing heart to care.

A familiar smiling raven stepped forward. "Yo Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted extending his hand.

Tsuna offered a small smile and grabbed the boy's hand. "Thanks." He was pulled onto his feet.

Tsuna looked around curiously. Nana, Giotto, Asari, G, and Gokudera were there too, but there were a three others. The tree were girls: one with long pink hair, another with a short orange bob, and the last with a brunette hair tied up in a bun.

Pink dusted Tsuna's face, and he scratched his cheek sheepishly. All these people had witnessed him make a fool of himself.

"S-so, it's Reborn's birthday?" He asked, trying to redeem himself in some way.

Yamamoto slung his arm around him, "Yep! We're throwing a birthday for him."

"My love and I will spend time together, finally." The pink-haired woman smiled dreamily.

Tsuna smiled nervously, for some reason the girl's demeanor creeped him out. The brunette hopped out of the group.

"Hahi, who are you?" She asked.

"Ah, Tsuna," He answered. He had a feeling is he said 'his' last name she would ask a lot of questions. Tsuna was never one for questions.

"Oh," the ginger gasped, "Sawada-san, it's nice to see you again!"

Again? "Um, sorry," He said slowly, "But you are…?"

The girl giggled, "I'm Sasagawa Kyoko; we're in the same class."

Tsuna's face reddened in embarrassment. "S-sorry, I've never been good with names." Lies. He simply didn't bother acquainting himself with anyone.

The girl laughed again, and let him off.

The pink-haired woman strode in front of him as well, not caring that the others had to move to avoid being hit; for some reason she was wearing goggles. She studied him closely, "So you're Bambi, huh?"

Tsuna's smile fell. "G?" He already knew the answer before she nodded. G shrunk back and hid behind Giotto.

The woman flipped her hair. "Poison Scorpion, nice to meet your acquaintance."

He wasn't really surprised that Reborn knew hit women and they were lovers(?).

"Nice to meet you too," he nodded in greeting. Most of the others were staring at the two questioningly, but Nana choose that moment to interrupt.

She clapped her hands together, "All right everyone, make sure you're ready when Reborn comes!"

Everyone went back into their little group, ready with party poppers. Yamamoto dragged Tsuna with him into line, and pressed a party popper in his hands too.

At that moment, the door knob turned. The two younger girls giggled in anticipation. Reborn swung the door open.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBORN!" They all yelled once again firing the confetti.

Reborn smiled smugly as the colorful paper fell around him. Tsuna had forgotten to fire his confetti. Frankly, he was trying to register how someone could be so smug all the time.

Nana and the Poison Scorpion grabbed hold of Reborn's arms. The two dragged him into the dinning room, and the rest followed behind.

Tsuna watched from the back as a cake was brought out with candles lit. Everyone, excluding him, started singing the Happy Birthday song. He'd overheard it a few times in Italian, but it didn't make it any less strange when the song ended and the candles were blown out.

He never understood the birthday traditions.

Everyone laughed and ate. They then went to play some Vongola birthday ranking game. Again, he did not understand birthday traditions, and these Vongola ones were… extravagant. Especially when it involves G and Gokudera making shapes with their cigarette smoke (Nana greatly disapproved of this), and getting only a thirty. Reborn had some very high expectations if he did not think making the Vongola almost accurately out of smoke was impressive.

The Poison Scorpion created a killer pizza; literally, it flew outside and chopped a tree in half. She received seventy points because she almost hit Giotto.

Haru-chan – she insisted for Tsuna to call her that – and Sasagawa-chan had made some treats that were in the shape of guns, targets, and Leon. Reborn had given them the same score as Bianchi.

Asari played a flute, while Yamamoto attempted juggling. Asari got eighty, but Yamamoto was placed somewhere under the chart. Tsuna couldn't blame Reborn, Yamamoto was a horrible juggler and ruined Reborn's sweets.

"You're turn, Tsuna," Reborn declared smirking. Tsuna looked at the hit man confused. He didn't even understand what was going on, so what was he supposed to do?

"What do I do?" He asked.

Reborn snorted, "Give me a present or presentation."

Haru pushed Tsuna into the middle, so he could do something. What would Reborn like that I have? Tsuna furrowed his brows in thought and tried to think what he could give Reborn.

Money? No, Reborn wouldn't need such a thing. He had some coupons from his dessert binge with G, but Reborn probably wouldn't care for those either. Information? Probably, but he'd rather not.

Reborn was staring at him expectantly.

Then what could he give…?

Reborn starting tapping his fingers.

"Attendere prego," Tsuna pleaded, "Sto pensando!"

Reborn clicked his tongue impatiently. Tsuna could tell Reborn was about to grab Leon and shoot him.

"Wah!" Nana exclaimed, "What language is that?"

Tsuna looked at the woman realizing he had switched languages in his desperation. "Italian."

"Hahi, such a romantic language," Haru added.

Gokudera scoffed at her comment. If she knew Tsuna was pleading she might think otherwise.

That was when Reborn's eyes sparkled that special Reborn way. "I'll let you off," Reborn started, "If you say 'Happy Birthday' in every language you know."

Tsuna's looked wide-eyed at Reborn, "But that's- nevermind; I'll do it."

Everyone in the room looked expectantly at him.

Tsuna settled down. "I guess I'll start with the most common languages…." He trailed off into the various languages he knew.

And Reborn had to admit he was a little bit impressed after Tsuna had gone past twenty. He could tell some of the languages he was a bit rusty or wasn't fluent, but it's still pretty impressive when an Italian child can even say speak Ukrainian.

* * *

Translation: Attendere prego, sto pensando! = Please wait, I'm thinking!

* * *

The party soon ended, and the visitors left. Tsuna found his tongue numb and stumbling by the time he switched back to Japanese.

Nana went to clean up, and Giotto was babbling about why he loves birthdays.

"Mine's January twenty-fifth. I love the winter, but I'd rather have mine in spring when the cheery blossoms bloom!" the blonde continued to babble.

Tsuna tuned him out and popped a piece of the extra cake in his mouth.

"-Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked up at his name, "Huh?"

Giotto smiled, "I said, 'When's your birthday, Tsuna?'"

Tsuna blinked owlishly, "My… birthday?"

The blonde laughed, "Yes, your birthday."

"I don't have one," Tsuna replied. Were birthdays really that important to know?

Giotto gasped and shook Tsuna's shoulders, "That's no good! Everyone needs to celebrate their birthday!"

His bright blue eyes sparkled, "We can celebrate it today!"

A bang rang out, and Giotto ducked.

Tsuna looked to see Leon-gun smoking in Reborn's hand.

"No," The man said.

Giotto crossed his arms. "Why not?" His tone was challenging.

Reborn scowled, "Today," he flourished his hand, "Is MY birthday. I'm not sharing."

Tsuna snickered at Reborn's behavior. How interesting, Reborn's ego could devolve into that of a selfish child's.

"Then tomorrow," Giotto shot back.

Reborn glared at the blonde and crossed his arms too, "Fine."

Tsuna's snickers grew louder until they turned into full-blown laughs.

"Shut up," Reborn spat at Tsuna who had collapsed onto the floor.

Tsuna's face was turning red from laughing, "Hahah, but y-you," He gasped for breath, "You're-! Hahaha!"

Reborn's scowl darkened, "I'm what?"

Tsuna clutched his stomach, trying to tame his outburst, "You're- hah, like a," the brunet let out a bout of laughter, "Like a- like a child! Pft- hahaha!"

Giotto fell off his chair, and quickly clasped his hands over his mouth to muffle his oncoming laughs. Reborn's mouth had fallen open momentarily, but the hit man soon regained his composure with a light tinge of blush.

"Ehem," the raven cleared his throat, "We'll celebrate it tomorrow then."

Giotto let out a loud cheer, "You're going to have so much fun tomorrow!" The blonde then leapt up and ran out of the room eagerly.

Tsuna stared after him. He bit his lip, "Uh, Reborn?"

"Yes?" Reborn asked absentmindedly.

Tsuna didn't break eye contact with the wide open door, "I'm not going to be allowed a moments rest tomorrow, am I?"

"No," Reborn smirked, "Not at all."

* * *

And he was right.

Giotto and Reborn had woken him up right when the sun began to rise. His eye had developed a twitch as he was dragged out of the house half-asleep.

"Come on Tsuna, it's your birthday!" Giotto tugged Tsuna harder down the street, "You should be smiling and laughing!"

Tsuna's blood shot eyes glared at Giotto. "I should be in the warm embrace of my bed." he grumbled. He was usually pretty good with mornings, but he had barely been able to get any sleep because he could hear Giotto randomly shouting gleefully into a phone. The teen could be loud.

Reborn was watching amusedly from the back as Tsuna was dragged by a hyper Giotto to guess what?

An amusement park.

Tsuna silently examined the rides.

They were shaky, dirty, and overused. It was a miracle they were even standing looking at the structures. No way would he ever step on one of those death traps.

Yet here he was, his hands gripping a black harness so tight his knuckles turned white. How on earth did he end up doing the exact opposite of what he wanted? Giotto nudged him excitedly. Oh that's right, Giotto.

The vehicle started to click up the tracks. Giotto grinned next to him in anticipation. Reborn looked perfectly comfortable reading a book. And Tsuna, Tsuna was shaking in fear once the car stopped on the top of the tracks.

His eyes widened, nearly popping out. The car rolled over the top. Giotto started laughing manically, and Reborn flipped to the next page in his book.

Tsuna closed his eyes and let out an earsplitting shriek. "HIIIIIIIIIE!"

Somewhere in between his screams he swore he heard Reborn laughing. Sadistic bastard.

* * *

They rode every single ride, even the kiddy ones. In between carnival games they ate cotton candy and elephant ears*.

Just a side note, but watching Reborn pop a vein while playing the Duck Pond game* is highly entertaining. Really just seeing Reborn fail so much at all of the kiddy games caused Tsuna and Giotto to nearly collapse from laughter.

It was… fun.

Even Reborn was having fun, when he wasn't emitting a killing aura whenever they approached a children's stall or ride

Eventually, the sun started setting so they had to leave.

The walk was silent, but refreshing.

Tsuna's wide smile became soft and he slowed down his pace. He never noticed how nice a walk could be.

Giotto and Reborn looked back, realizing that Tsuna had fallen behind.

Reborn cocked an eyebrow up. "Tsuna?" He asked.

Tsuna closed his eyes for a second before reopening them. He looked upon his two friends and spoke soft and sincere.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Nono, we've finished scanning the information." A Vongola subordinate told his boss.

Nono looked at his Right Hand. The man nodded, "I'll let Iemitsu know the results so he can leave."

Nono chuckled and dismissed his subordinates. He looked at the door with his eyes twinkling, "I'm sure Iemitsu can't wait to see his family again."

* * *

***** The Duck Pond Game is one for very little kids. You pretty much choose a rubber duck at random, and if it has a number/sticker on the bottom you can choose a prize from a box with the same number/ sticker. Like I said, it's a game for _very_ little kids.

*****Elephant ears aren't actually elephant ears, but fried dough. They're delicious, and you can put all sorts of toppings like powdered sugar and honey.


	11. A Truly Wonderful Day

**(A/N)** Okay, I know it's a short chapter, but I've been having trouble writing recently. I felt bad about not updating in a long time, so I decided to put this up regardless of not being that long.

I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long, but thank you for being patient. And thank you so much for all the reviews, favs, follows (300+ :D), and even the communities that added this! I still can't believe how many people have enjoyed my story. ^^

* * *

_A Truly Wonderful Day_

* * *

Tsuna eagerly ate his french toast with Reborn and Giotto. He could hear Nana humming in the kitchen already making seconds.

He stuffed another slice of the syrup-covered toast into his mouth. His shoulders were tense in anticipation as Reborn was already eyeing his food, and the raven wasn't even half-way done with his own plate.

Crap, there was that gleam in Reborn's eyes! Tsuna watched Reborn's chopsticks launch towards his plate, and he barely countered the front door slammed open.

"NANA~!" A man's voice shouted.

Tsuna took a sharp intake of breath, and Reborn was able to break through his defenses as the piece of toast he was in the middle of chewing lodged in his throat.

Nana ran out from the kitchen and through the dining room. "DEAR~!" She squealed.

Reborn smacked Tsuna's back, while Nana ran into the hall. A few more coughs and painful hits from Reborn, Tsuna was able to dislodge the food from his throat. After regaining his breath, and a concerned look from Giotto, Tsuna realized that sometime during his choking and helping him, Reborn had swiped the rest of his breakfast.

The brunet glared towards Reborn, but didn't bother trying to snatch his meal back – there was no way he was going to make that mistake again.

He glanced at Giotto briefly and he had only shook his head smiling as he finished his breakfast. "Looks like dad's back." Giotto said smiling.

Tsuna smiled back, and leaned back in his chair listening to the cooing of the two lovebirds. It was a while before he heard Nana excuse herself, so she could go buy ingredients for a welcome home dinner. Tsuna waited excitedly for Giotto's dad, he couldn't wait to see what kind of person the 'Young Lion' of the Vongola was.

The man who entered the dining room had short blonde hair and was muscly, but… Tsuna wasn't quite expecting a goofy smiling man. Maybe this was better than the cold, slyness one would expect from a mafioso, but it still would've been more interesting if that kind of man had somehow managed to procure a warm family.

Giotto stood up and hugged him. "Hey Dad."

Iemitsu grinned and hugged back, "You've grown 'Yasu-kun." Giotto frowned at his father, and Iemitsu laughed in return. "I mean, Giotto."

Reborn reclined cooly in his own chair. "What brings you here Iemitsu?" He asked. Giotto looked eagerly at his father.

Iemitsu grinned and winked, "Not with my son and his friend around." Giotto huffed in disappointment, but went back to his food accepting what his father had said. Iemitsu glanced around curiously, "Where's Bambi anyway?"

Tsuna twitched. It was generally a good thing for him that people suspected an adult, but he can't help but feel a bit insulted. "I'm Bambi."

Iemitsu's eyebrows shot up. "Oh…" he scratched his cheek, "Sorry boy. I was just… Just, um…-"

"Expecting someone different." Tsuna spoke poking at his empty plate.

The burly man licked his lips, "Yep."

They dissolved into silence with Iemitsu studying the boy in front of him, confusion pooling in his gaze the longer he stared until Giotto got up and put his plate in the sink.

"Nice to see you dad, but Tsuna and I have to go to school now!" The grinning blonde gave Iemitsu a quick hug before grabbing Tsuna; in a matter of seconds the two were out the door and on the street.

* * *

Iemitsu stared at the retreating figures of his son and Bambi. Or 'Chuna' as his son called him, or was it 'Suna'…? He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, he hadn't really been able to get a good look at Bambi, but something about the boy seemed oddly familiar, and something about the boy's name was nagging him.*

Reborn tilted his hat down and a smirk played on his lips. "If you think too much, you'll hurt yourself."

Iemitsu looked surprised, before chuckling. "I sure missed your remarks, Reborn."

The raven's smirk only widened, "You're obviously not smart enough to know an insult."

Iemitsu grinned good-naturedly, completely forgetting his thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tsuna was being dragged down the street by Giotto. He didn't bother trying to yank his arm out from Giotto's grip, already used to him panicking and rushing to school with Tsuna being dragged right behind.

Giotto grinned back at Tsuna. "I wonder why dad's back, but I hope he stays longer this time!"

Tsuna smiled unsure of how to respond. Giotto's grin widened, taking that for an answer, and turned his attention back to running.

After a short while, Giotto had dropped Tsuna off and continued on his way. Tsuna had no idea why Giotto always insisted on taking him, but he secretly enjoyed the brotherly action.

The brunet walked to his class, purposely avoiding making contact with the younger Hibari. He settled down behind his desk once he entered the classroom.

"Morning, Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted from next to him.

Tsuna smiled towards his friend, Yamamoto. "Good morning." He greeted back. Gokudera burst into to the classroom, then, and immediately ran to Tsuna's desk.

"Good morning, Bambi-sama!" The silver-haired teen exclaimed bowing fervently.

Tsuna's smile strained at Gokudera's antics; no matter how much he insisted, Gokudera wouldn't call him Tsuna. As long as no one important heard, then he supposed it was all right. "Good morning, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera grinned back like he had just won first prize. Tsuna watched as he went back to his seat gleefully with girls swooning over him. The female population in this school were an oddity, in every country he had been to, Tsuna had never seen girls actually make a fan club for a boy in their class.

Japan was a strange country.

Tsuna didn't pay much attention when class began, except for when the time for Algebra came. Tsuna and the rest of the slightly normal class thanked their luck when 'Reboyama-sensei' had a substitute.*

* * *

Reborn put his expresso down, and he pulled his hat over his eyes. "Are you sure?"

After the kids had left, Iemitsu had explained their findings along with another concern.

The Gesso didn't have it. While this was good as they didn't now have to find a way to snatch the ring back, but this also meant they didn't know who had it. The only other viable suspicions they had, was the Varia, but if that trail ended up dry too….

Iemitsu nodded, "There is no evidence that the Gesso stole the ring, but their sudden increased activity in Namimori is a new concern."

Reborn took a sip of his expresso.

Iemitsu had also told him the Gesso were showing interest in residents. They couldn't be looking for Nana or Giotto, because they already knew where this house was located; the Vongola had made sure the Gesso knew why it was a bad idea to do any harm to their family. So who were they interested in? "What does the Ninth believe the best course of action is?" He asked.

The blonde shook his head, "He says we've already gone beyond our boundaries, it is best to keep watch and wait unless we'll risk upsetting them." He then grinned widely, his hand framing his face in a 'L' shape for extra effect, "That's what I'm here for."

Reborn choose to ignore the blonde's behavior; he could alway shoot Iemitsu after he told him everything.

* * *

Byakuran was having a wonderful day. His marshmallows had the perfect balance of moisture to fluffiness ratio, and he was able to trick Zakuro and Kikyo into doing his share of the workload.

He popped another deliciously fluffy, and so very, very perfectly squishy marshmallow into his mouth. He chewed hummed in delight as he chewed and made his way towards Soichi's office. The red-head said he had found a possible identity for this mysterious little 'Tanaka'~.

The smiling man popped another marshmallow into his mouth. 'Tanaka' wouldn't last much longer in this game of hide-and-seek.

Yes, today was truly a wonderful day.

* * *

* I'm not sure how many people understand Japanese suffixes, so I'll give a quick run-down (if not late) to avoid any possible confusion. '-san' is generic, pretty much mr., mrs., ms., and is the normal suffix applied to the name of anyone for politeness; used for both genders. '-sama' is used for people of higher status than you, and is the really polite version of '-san'. '-sensei' is used for teachers, mentors, and doctors. '-chan' is a casual form applied to girls (usually), and is for people who are close. '-kun' is like '-chan', but for usually used for boys.

*Random Fact: 'Chūna' or チューナ is one way to say 'tuna' in Japanese. (The other word being 'maguro' or マグロ.)


End file.
